Artificial intelligence has sent surges in electricity demand in the US after years of not growing. This means that large tech companies are scrambling to ensure data center generation capabilities.
For many, it has meant turning into nuclear fission. Power sources have experienced a revival in recent years after decades of plant closure. (Nuclear fission used in all nuclear power plants today is different from fusion, which is still an experimental approach to getting power from atoms that don’t produce more electricity than they consume, attracting investors.)
For high-tech companies, part of the appeal of nuclear fission is a stable, predictable power source that flows 24/7, giving the data center the possibility to perform computing loads when needed.
However, another part of the appeal lies in the new reactor design, which promises to overcome the shortcomings of existing nuclear power plants. If an old power plant is built around a huge reactor capable of generating more than 1 gigawatt of electricity, the new small modular reactor (SMR) designs deploy multiple modules deployed with one another to meet a variety of needs.
SMR relies on mass production to reduce costs, but it has not kept Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft away from the table as no one has built it in the US yet. They either signed contracts to buy electricity from nuclear startups, or invested in either directly or both.
Here are the big technology-backed fission startups:
Kairos Power
Kairos Power won trust votes from Google by 2035 when the search giant promised to buy around 500 megawatts of electricity by 2035.
The company’s small modular reactors rely on molten fluoride salts for cooling and heat transport to steam turbines. A high boiling point of salt means there is no need to keep the coolant at high pressure. This should improve driving safety. The reactor contains fuel pebbles coated with carbon and ceramic shells, and must be strong enough to withstand meltdowns.
The Alameda-based startup has received a $629 million award from the US government, including $303 million from the Department of Energy. In November 2024, Kairos received approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulation Authority to begin construction of two nuclear reactors in Tennessee. At 35 megawatts, the test units will be smaller than Kairos’ final commercial reactors, which are expected to produce 75 megawatts each.
OKLO
Oklo is another SMR company targeting the data center world. He chaired Oklo, who chaired Altman in July 2023 when Openai began negotiations with Oklo. DCVC, Draper Associates and Peter Thiel’s Mithril Capital Management are among the previous investors in the startup.
Liquid metal-cooled Oklo’s reactors are based on existing US Energy Sector designs aimed at reducing the amount of nuclear waste caused by normal operations. Still, Oklo’s pass was not a smooth road. The company’s first license application was denied in January 2022. Oklo said it will resubmit the application in 2025.
Saltfoss
Like Kairos, Saltfoss, formerly known as Seaborg, also wants to build SMRs cooled by molten salt. However, unlike Kairos, it is intended to place two or eight of them on a ship to create something called a power barge. According to Pitchbook, the startup has raised nearly $60 million. Satlfoss has an agreement to build a nuclear reactor designed by Samsung Heavy Industries, ships and Satlfoss.
Terra Power
Founded by Bill Gates, Terrapower builds a larger reactor called the Natrium. It is cooled with liquid sodium and is characterized by molten salt energy storage.
The company broke the ground in June 2024 at its first power plant in Wyoming. The Natrium design requires the reactor to generate 345 megawatts of power. It is smaller than other new nuclear power plants today, but larger than most SMR designs.
However, Natrium has a trick on the sleeves with a molten salt heat storage system. Because reactors are most effective in steady state, sodium reactors can continue to destroy atoms when demand is low, and excess energy is stored as heat in the vat of molten salt, which can be collected later to generate electricity.
Investors include Gates’ Cascade Investment Fund, Khosla Ventures, CRV, and ArcelorMittal.
X-Energy
X-Energy landed the $700 million Series C-1 last year, led by Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund. At the same time, the SMR startup has announced two development agreements to see the deployment of 300 megawatts of new nucleation capabilities in the Pacific Northwest and Virginia.
The company’s high temperature-cooled reactors have defied recent trends in the US and Europe where designs are shunned in favor of other approaches. The company’s XE-100 reactor is expected to generate 80 megawatts of electricity. Helium gas flows through the reactor’s 200,000 billiard ball-sized fuel “pebbles” and absorbs the heat that rotates the steam turbine.
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