Rolls-Royce is in talks with potential customers for its nuclear reactors, per the Financial Times.Rolls-Royce has been working on so-called nuclear microreactors for more than three years.The company said the reactors could provide energy for data centers, mining, and space missions.

Rolls-Royce is in early-stage talks with potential customers for its compact nuclear reactors, which are designed to power data centers on Earth and to eventually be sent into space, the Financial Times reported on Monday.

The so-called microreactors have a much smaller power output than traditional small modular reactors but are more transportable.

Jake Thompson, the company's director of novel nuclear and special projects, told the FT the reactor could provide energy for data centers, mining, and remote communities. A spokesperson for Rolls-Royce confirmed to Business Insider that it was in early-stage talks with potential customers.

Big Tech companies including Google, Amazon, and Microsoft have expressed interest in nuclear power to meet AI's high energy demands. The FT said Rolls-Royce believes the growing international interest in nuclear power will increase the demand for microreactors for applications on Earth and in space.

Thompson told the FT that Rolls-Royce was focused on building a reactor that's "small enough so you could load it onto a rocket and send it into space."

The company has been working on the technology for more than three years. It collaborated with the UK Space Agency in 2021 to study how nuclear power could support space exploration.

In July, the agency's National Space Innovation Programme awarded Rolls-Royce £4.8 million, or about $6 million, to help develop its technology. The company said that project would cost £9.1 million and aimed to increase the microreactor's "overall technology readiness level."