Synergistic Pathways for Water Security in Emerging Sectors: Data Centers and Modern Nuclear Facilities
Stand-alone data centers, nuclear-powered data centers, and novel nuclear facilities such as fusion plant and small modular reactors are water intensive sectors poised to rapidly expand, presenting a significant challenge to the water-for-energy nexus. The potential for large-scale water consumption for cooling could reduce downstream water quantity and degrade quality, demanding an integrated approach by stakeholders that encompasses comprehensive data collection, cross-sector collaboration, and assimilation of emerging technologies to bolster water security in an evolving hydrologic landscape. Success in advancing near-term opportunities will be measured by both cross-sector coordination and the generation of actionable, science-based insights.
Citation Formats
TY - DATA
AB - Stand-alone data centers, nuclear-powered data centers, and novel nuclear facilities such as fusion plant and small modular reactors are water intensive sectors poised to rapidly expand, presenting a significant challenge to the water-for-energy nexus. The potential for large-scale water consumption for cooling could reduce downstream water quantity and degrade quality, demanding an integrated approach by stakeholders that encompasses comprehensive data collection, cross-sector collaboration, and assimilation of emerging technologies to bolster water security in an evolving hydrologic landscape. Success in advancing near-term opportunities will be measured by both cross-sector coordination and the generation of actionable, science-based insights.
AU - Catalano, Arielle
A2 - Duan, Zhuoran
A3 - Quimby, Chase
A4 - Wang, Taiping
A5 - Chini, Christopher
A6 - Premathilake, Lakshitha
A7 - McPherson, Timothy
A8 - Pope, Jason
DB - Energy-Water Resilience
DP - Open EI | National Laboratory of the Rockies
DO -
KW - data centers
KW - nuclear energy
KW - water security
KW - stakeholder collaboration
KW - technology innovation
KW - emerging sectors
KW - data center
KW - modern nuclear facility
KW - nuclear facility
KW - fusion plant
KW - modular reactor
KW - water-for-energy
LA - English
DA - 2026/01/15
PY - 2026
PB - PNNL
T1 - Synergistic Pathways for Water Security in Emerging Sectors: Data Centers and Modern Nuclear Facilities
UR - https://ewr.openei.org/submissions/3
ER -
Catalano, Arielle, et al. Synergistic Pathways for Water Security in Emerging Sectors: Data Centers and Modern Nuclear Facilities. PNNL, 15 January, 2026, Energy-Water Resilience. https://ewr.openei.org/submissions/3.
Catalano, A., Duan, Z., Quimby, C., Wang, T., Chini, C., Premathilake, L., McPherson, T., & Pope, J. (2026). Synergistic Pathways for Water Security in Emerging Sectors: Data Centers and Modern Nuclear Facilities. [Data set]. Energy-Water Resilience. PNNL. https://ewr.openei.org/submissions/3
Catalano, Arielle, Zhuoran Duan, Chase Quimby, Taiping Wang, Christopher Chini, Lakshitha Premathilake, Timothy McPherson, and Jason Pope. Synergistic Pathways for Water Security in Emerging Sectors: Data Centers and Modern Nuclear Facilities. PNNL, January, 15, 2026. Distributed by Energy-Water Resilience. https://ewr.openei.org/submissions/3
@misc{EWR_Dataset_3,
title = {Synergistic Pathways for Water Security in Emerging Sectors: Data Centers and Modern Nuclear Facilities},
author = {Catalano, Arielle and Duan, Zhuoran and Quimby, Chase and Wang, Taiping and Chini, Christopher and Premathilake, Lakshitha and McPherson, Timothy and Pope, Jason},
abstractNote = {Stand-alone data centers, nuclear-powered data centers, and novel nuclear facilities such as fusion plant and small modular reactors are water intensive sectors poised to rapidly expand, presenting a significant challenge to the water-for-energy nexus. The potential for large-scale water consumption for cooling could reduce downstream water quantity and degrade quality, demanding an integrated approach by stakeholders that encompasses comprehensive data collection, cross-sector collaboration, and assimilation of emerging technologies to bolster water security in an evolving hydrologic landscape. Success in advancing near-term opportunities will be measured by both cross-sector coordination and the generation of actionable, science-based insights. },
url = {https://ewr.openei.org/submissions/3},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Energy-Water Resilience, PNNL, https://ewr.openei.org/submissions/3},
note = {Accessed: 2026-06-17}
}
Details
Data from Jan 15, 2026
Last updated Jan 15, 2026
Submitted Jan 15, 2026
Contact
Alison Colotelo
Authors
Keywords
data centers, nuclear energy, water security, stakeholder collaboration, technology innovation, emerging sectors, data center, modern nuclear facility, nuclear facility, fusion plant, modular reactor, water-for-energyDOE Project Details
Project Name White Papers on Ideas to Advance Energy-Water Resilience
Project Lead
Project Number WP-003