Westinghouse, Google aim to speed up reactor construction with AI

Wednesday, 16 July 2025

In September last year, Westinghouse introduced the HiVE System - a generative artificial intelligence system built on more than 75 years of proprietary data, knowledge and expertise. The system features a Nuclear Large Language Model AI System named bertha, after Bertha Lamme who was the first woman in the US to receive a mechanical engineering degree - in 1893 - and then became the first female engineer hired by Westinghouse. According to Westinghouse, these nuclear-specific AI solutions will optimise new nuclear deployment of its AP1000 reactor, AP300 small modular reactors and eVinci microreactor technologies.

Under its agreement with Google Cloud, the two companies will pair Westinghouse's HiVE and bertha nuclear AI solutions with Google Cloud technologies and expertise to "transform the construction of advanced Westinghouse nuclear reactors into an efficient, repeatable process and enhance the operations of existing nuclear power plants using data-driven insights".

"As the only fully licensed, construction-ready modular reactor available today, our AP1000 technology is the quickest way to add new sources of affordable and abundant nuclear energy to the US grid," said Westinghouse Interim Chief Executive Officer Dan Sumner. "By partnering with Google Cloud to enhance our HiVE and bertha technology, and backed by 75 years of our proprietary nuclear data, we can accelerate the deployment of new AP1000 units while implementing powerful AI technologies that will optimise the construction and operations of nuclear power plants."

"This partnership with Westinghouse combines Google Cloud's AI technologies and expertise with Westinghouse's century-long expertise in nuclear innovation to chart a new path towards a smarter and safer future," said Kyle Jessen, Managing Director, Commercial Industries, Google Cloud. "Artificial intelligence is not merely a tool; it can give companies a critical competitive advantage. Westinghouse is demonstrating what's possible."

As part of this collaboration, Westinghouse and Google Cloud have successfully achieved a first-of-a-kind proof of concept leveraging Westinghouse's WNEXUS digital plant design platform and HiVE artificial intelligence enhanced by Google Cloud technologies, including Vertex AI, Gemini and BigQuery, to autonomously generate and optimise AP1000 modular construction work packages.