He said it was all because electricity demand from AI was becoming so "crazy" and Oracle has already got building permits for the reactors.

Ellison said: "These are the small modular nuclear reactors to power the data centre. This is how crazy it's getting. This is what's going on."

Small modular reactors are a bit of a thing at the moment  and being touted as the technology of the future, with executives in the nuclear industry generally agreeing that they won't be commercialised in the US until the 2030s.

Small modular nuclear reactors promise to speed the deployment of reliable, carbon-free energy as power demand rises from data centres, manufacturing and the broader electrification of the economy.

Generally, these reactors are 300 megawatts or less, about a third the size of the typical reactor in the current US fleet. They would be prefabricated in several pieces and then assembled on the site, reducing the capital costs that stymie larger plants.

There are currently three operational small modular reactors in the world, according to the Nuclear Energy Agency. Two are in China and Russia and a test reactor is also operational in Japan.