Small modular reactors are one of the most important future technologies for the global energy transition. And now, they’re starting to get momentum.
What’s happening:
- Small modular reactors for nuclear power have been on the rise, with a flurry of recent new venture capital funding, new public market listings and even government grants
Why it matters:
- Small modular reactors are widely seen as one of the most promising ways to accelerate the transition to nuclear energy by generating carbon free electricity and also requiring significantly less infrastructure to be constructed than large nuclear power plants
Who is making moves:
- Oklo (NASDAQ: OKLO) recently went public through a SPAC transaction with AltC Acquisition Corp, which OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman was the largest financier of
- NANO Nuclear Energy (NASDAQ: NNE) recently went public on the Nasdaq through an IPO
- Swedish startup Blykalla recently raised €6.8M in a new funding round to advance their small modular lead-cooled reactors
- Cavendish Energy and X-energy recently were awarded a €3.4M grant from the government of the United Kingdom to develop advanced modular reactors
Going deeper:
- There has been a global race to build out nuclear energy infrastructure, which has led to the United States government expanding their plans for nuclear power capacity and the Swedish government considering a change in policy to lift their current ban on uranium mining
The intrigue:
- Nuclear energy has even captured the attention of Wall Street titans, with Citadel’s founder Ken Griffin previously publicly stating that North America needs to accelerate their plans for nuclear power in order to stay ahead of China and other foreign countries
