The Trump administration’s so-called “nuclear renaissance” is in full force, with several startups earning large funding rounds in recent months.
This week, Nuclear startup Antares has raised $96 million in a Series B funding round. The new funds will go towards the development of the firm’s small modular R1 microreactor, built for use in remote locations on Earth as well as in space, the company announced on Tuesday.
Developing the Antares R1 microreactor
The Antares funding round was led by Shine Capital, and it included Alt Capital, FiftyThree Stations, Industrious, Caffeinated, and others. The funding round will be delivered as $71 million in equity and $25 million in debt. That debt will go towards equipment, factory build-out, and uranium procurement, the company explained in a press statement.
Antares’ R1 microreactor is powered by TRISO fuel made up of carbon spheres and ceramic-coated uranium embedded in graphite. It will be capable of producing somewhere between 100 kilowatts and 1 megawatt of electricity.
In August, Antares was named among 11 participants in the Department of Energy’s reactor pilot program. This program aims to accelerate the development of advanced commercial nuclear reactors. Its goal is to have at least three reactors begin operation by July next year.
Antares has said it is looking to demonstrate its reactor for the DOE next year. By 2027, it aims to power up its full-scale reactor prototype.
The ‘nuclear renaissance’
Antares was founded only two years ago. Since that time, it has raised a total of $130 million in funding, including the latest Series B round. It is currently building a 145,000-square-foot facility in Torrance, California, which will be capable of producing 10 of its reactors per year. The company has secured contracts with the US Air Force, Space Force, Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), and NASA.
“This funding marks a major milestone for Antares,” Antares CEO Jordan Bramble said in the statement.
“We’re months away from our first reactor demonstration, which will validate our control systems and neutronics models, develop our testing facility, and fabricate our fuel ahead of our upcoming full scale electricity producing prototype in 2027. We’ve raised the capital we need to mobilize to provide resilient energy for our partners at the Department of War (DoW) and NASA.”
As a TechCrunch report points out, Antares is one of several startups benefiting from a renewed interest in nuclear power. Last week, Amazon-backed X-energy raised $700 million, while Aalo Atomics raised $100 million in August to build a demonstration data center powered by a microreactor.
The push for advanced nuclear technologies continues, as the US President Donald Trump administration increasingly downplays the importance of renewable energies. In May this year, Trump signed executive orders to usher in a “nuclear renaissance.” Just this week, reports emerged that the Trump administration has renamed the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado, to remove the word “renewable” from the title. While scientists have suggested nuclear energy can play a key role in the transition away from fossil fuels, they warn that renewable energy is an absolute necessity if we are to avert the worst effects of climate breakdown.
