Nuclear Startup Raises $140 Million to Boost Uranium Fuel Supply
(Bloomberg) -- Standard Nuclear Inc., a uranium startup, raised $140 million to boost production of fuel for advanced reactors in an effort to expand the US energy supply chain amid surging interest in fission power.
The Series A round was led by Decisive Point and included new investors Chevron Technology Ventures and StepStone Group, as well as existing backers Andreessen Horowitz, according to a statement Monday. The Tennessee-based company began fabricating so-called Triso fuel this month using a more potent form of uranium called HALEU, and plans to use the funding to start production at two additional facilities.
Standard Nuclear is one of the few makers of Triso, a new type of fuel that will be needed for the next generation of reactors. Demand is low now, but will likely grow as more companies begin deploying nuclear power to meet surging demand for electricity. Dozens of companies are developing advanced nuclear designs, but there’s been concern about whether there would be enough fuel available as they start testing and building systems.
“Today, we have the biggest production capacity in the country,” Thomas Hendrix, a general partner at Decisive Point and Standard Nuclear’s executive chairman, said in an interview. “Eventually, we’ll be the biggest in the world.”
Triso, or tristructural isotropic, pellets are poppy-seed-sized uranium beads that burn hotter and longer than conventional fuel. These are fabricated into larger pellets or spheres that are expected to power many of the new reactor designs. It can use either low-enriched uranium, LEU, which is the industry standard now, or HALEU, high assay low enriched uranium, which is not yet widely used but can let reactors run longer before they need to be refueled.
Standard Nuclear can make about 500 kilograms of Triso a year at its Tennessee site. It’s developing a second facility there and another one at Idaho National Laboratory, which are both expected to go into service by mid-2026. Each will be able to deliver about 1 metric ton annually.
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