Nuclear startup Antares has secured $470 million in Series C funding to develop small modular reactors intended for use at U.S. military installations.
Key facts
- •Antares has raised a total of $604 million to date, including a $96 million Series B round in December.
- •The company aims to bring its first electricity-producing reactor online in 2025.
- •Military deployments of the reactors are currently planned for 2028.
- •The Pentagon program testing these reactors involves sites in Colorado and Montana.
- •TRISO fuel spheres are designed to be cooled by gases such as helium or molten salts.
Antares announced on Monday that it raised $470 million in a Series C funding round to build small modular reactors (SMRs) for U.S. military bases. The round consisted of $370 million in equity and $100 million in debt. The company is currently a finalist in the Pentagon’s Advanced Nuclear Power for Installations program, which plans to test SMRs at Air Force bases in Colorado and Montana.
By the numbers
Reactor Technology and Development
Antares is developing an SMR capable of producing between 100 kilowatts and 1 megawatt of electricity, which the company states is sufficient to power up to 750 homes. The reactor utilizes TRISO fuel, which consists of uranium encapsulated in carbon and ceramic shells designed to prevent melting at high temperatures. On June 4, the company’s demonstration reactor, the Mark-0, reached criticality at the Idaho National Laboratory.
Market Context and Challenges
The funding round was led by Paradigm and Caffeinated Capital, with participation from Industrious Ventures, Point72 Ventures, and Shine Capital. While investor interest in advanced nuclear energy has increased due to rising electricity demand from AI data centers, the industry faces significant hurdles, including immature supply chains and scaling challenges. Analysts at Lazard project that early SMRs may cost approximately $214 per megawatt hour, making them less cost-competitive than many other power sources.
Timeline
- DecemberAntares closed its $96 million Series B funding round.
- June 4The Mark-0 demonstration reactor reached criticality at the Idaho National Laboratory.
- 2025Antares aims to bring its first electricity-producing reactor online.
- 2028Antares plans to deploy reactors at U.S. military installations.
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This article was independently rewritten by ManyPress editorial AI from reporting originally published by TechCrunch.
