After a long period of instability in the market for nuclear solutions, it’s time for a new approach. Last Energy is developing small modular reactors that can be mass-produced to reduce costs. Their reactors are designed to generate about 20 MW of electricity, meeting the needs of roughly 15,000 households.
The company announced the closing of a Series C round at $100 million, led by Astera Institute with participation from AE Ventures, Galaxy Fund, Gigafund, JAM Fund, The Haskell Company, Ultranative, Woori Technology and other investors.
The uniqueness of Last Energy lies in the use of an updated high-pressure water cooling design, based on an older but proven solution. The initial project for a high-pressure water-cooled reactor was developed for NS Savannah – the world’s first nuclear-powered merchant ship. The company’s new approach is expected to deliver 20 MW of electricity.
Pilot Path and Roadmap
The first step is to build a 5 MW pilot reactor on a site that Last Energy is leasing from Texas A&M. The new funding will fully cover the pilot project and help launch deliveries of the first commercial units, Kugelmass noted. The company plans to bring the pilot reactor online next year, and to bring the 20 MW serial unit into production in 2028.
“During the first five years, when I explained to people that I work in nuclear energy, I had to convince them: ‘This is why nuclear energy matters.’ Now people come to us and say: ‘Oh, of course, nuclear energy is a key part of the solution.’ I think: okay, great, glad that everyone has finally caught up.”
Such an approach, combined with scaling up production, is expected to drive down the cost of nuclear energy. Kugelmass noted that a specific price is not set in advance: other industries are already showing price declines due to higher production volumes. “I don’t think the nuclear sector will do that well, because there are always some additional fixed costs due to specific regulatory requirements, but that’s the kind of trend you can observe.” “We don’t think in units and pairs; we think in tens of thousands.”
