Nuclear companies are taking an old approach to building new nuclear reactors. Instead of gin design or attempting to mass-produce smaller reactors, it wants to develop a range of reactors using existing designs.
The two-year-old startup announced last month a Series A that includes investments in CIV, Goldcrest Capital, MCJ Collective, True Ventures and Wonder Ventures, although it did not disclose the amount raised. Now, TechCrunch learns that the company has received $51.3 million in Series A, bringing the company's total funding to $70 million.
The nuclear company was founded in 2023 by three serial entrepreneurs: former Apparvest CEO Jonathan Webb, Arcadia CEO Kiran Bhatraju and Civ Civ Ceo Ceo Patrick Maloney. The startup is prioritizing sites that already have licenses or licenses. According to the documents of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s consolidated operating license and early field license, fewer than twelve locations fall under this title.
In closer to groundbreaking locations, each site can support reactors with power generation capacity of more than 1 GW. The nuclear company aims to develop 6 GW in its first fleet.
As technology companies and utilities are working to secure electricity for data centers, the Funding Tour is coming. According to the grid strategy, after years of stable consumption, the U.S. demand for U.S. electricity is expected to be nearly 16% by 2029. Data centers are a large driver; by the end of the decade, their power may double.
Faced with potential power shortages, tech companies have been comforting with nuclear startups and developers. Google is working with Kairos to build a 500-megawatt small modular reactor (SMR), while Amazon participated in a huge $700 million round to fund X-Energy's SMR program. Meta solicited proposals from developers to increase the power generation capacity of 4 GW, while Microsoft is using Constellation Energy to restart the reactor on Three Mile Island.
But nuclear energy faces expected and unexpected headwinds. The competition for solar energy is one of the former: Tech companies and data center operators have been snapping up the capacity of solar farms and signed considerable deals. These farms are often paired with large batteries to provide 24/7 of power. The technology is cheap and can develop new projects within 18 months.
Nuclear may soon and may also face other financial obstacles. This week, the House Ways and Means Committee released a draft settlement bill that would kill nuclear power subsidies granted under the Inflation Reduction Act. Currently, nuclear power plants are eligible for a tax credit of up to $15 per megawatt-hour.
Most new nuclear power plants, including those on the nuclear company's timeline, will not be available online until the early 2030s. Given that forecasts vary widely over the next five years, large nuclear power plants that have entered service for a decade from now may grab the bag.
Update: Added Final Series A fundraising and total funding amount.