Nuclear Startups Ignite a Clean Energy Renaissance Fueled by Data Center Demands
The nuclear industry is experiencing a dramatic resurgence, moving from years of neglected potential to a new era of explosive growth driven by urgent power needs.
“For the first half a decade that I was telling people I was doing nuclear, I had to convince them, ‘Hey, here’s why nuclear is important,'” Bret Kugelmass, founder and CEO of Last Energy, told TechCrunch. “Now everyone just comes to us saying, ‘Oh yeah, of course nuclear is a key part of the solution.'”
The catalyst for this shift is the insatiable power demand of data centers and the urgent need for reliable, carbon-free baseload energy. Consequently, nuclear startups are securing massive funding rounds. Last Energy recently closed a $100 million Series C round, joining competitors like X-energy and Aalo Atomics, which raised $700 million and $100 million, respectively, in recent months.
However, Last Energy distinguishes itself not through futuristic innovation, but by modernizing a proven design. The company utilizes a pressurized water reactor concept originally developed for the NS Savannah, the world’s first nuclear-powered merchant ship. While the original ship’s plant generated roughly 2 megawatts, Last Energy has scaled this legacy technology to produce 20 megawatts of electricity—enough to power approximately 15,000 homes.
To bring this vision to life, the company is taking a pragmatic, phased approach. The new capital will fully fund a 5-megawatt pilot reactor currently under construction at a leased site within the Texas A&M University System. While competitors race toward massive gigawatt-scale plants, Last Energy aims to deploy its first commercial 20-megawatt units by 2028, accelerating time-to-market by starting smaller.
The startup’s operational philosophy relies on radical simplification. Traditional nuclear reactors require complex maintenance cycles and generate spent fuel that demands separate disposal protocols. Last Energy disrupts this model with a “sealed core” strategy.
The reactors are permanently encased in 1,000 tons of steel—a material Kugelmass notes is more cost-effective for nuclear applications than specialized concrete. This steel vessel serves a dual purpose: it acts as the reactor containment and, eventually, the waste cask. The units arrive on-site pre-fueled with uranium for a six-year lifespan and are designed to run maintenance-free until decommissioning, at which point they remain on-site encased in their steel shell.
This modular, mass-manufacturing approach aims to leverage economies of scale to drive down costs, mirroring price reductions seen in sectors like solar energy. While rigid nuclear regulations may temper the pace of decline, the industry is shifting from a bespoke, one-off construction mindset to a production-line model capable of deploying tens of thousands of units.
Ultimately, Last Energy’s progress signals a maturing market. By blending legacy engineering with modern manufacturing techniques, the company is proving that nuclear power can be standardized, scalable, and economically viable—offering a critical solution to the world’s escalating energy crisis.
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