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Nuclear startup Valar Atomics has raised a $19 million seed round to help develop its first test reactor. 

Why it matters: The company has ambitious plans to build hundreds of small modular reactors at off-grid sites to power customers like data centers and industrial plants.

Zoom in: The round was led by Riot Ventures and included AlleyCorp, Initialized Capital, Day One Ventures, and Steel Atlas. 

In addition to the seed funding, Valar announced a contract with the Philippines Nuclear Research Institute, a Philippine government agency, to build a reactor in the country. 

How it works: Valar is developing a helium-cooled high-temperature gas reactor that will be modular (called an SMR). 

The company wants to build many of its SMRs on individual sites, potentially delivering "tens of gigawatts of power," says Valar's founder and CEO Isaiah Taylor, whose grandfather was a nuclear physicist on the Manhattan Project.

The idea is that traditional nuclear is so expensive because each project is one-off and bespoke. If a company can make nuclear reactors repeatable on each site, the costs would come down per reactor. 

"These will be the largest nuclear sites on Earth," said Taylor, who founded the company about a year and a half ago.

Fun fact: Taylor named Valar's reactors after his great grandfather Ward Schaap: Ward One is its first reactor, and Ward Zero is its prototype reactor.

The intrigue: Taylor says the grid itself is the biggest gating factor for ramping up nuclear. In most places, the grid can only interconnect 2 to 3 GW, says Taylor.

That's why Valar is focused on building "gigasites" that can sell electricity directly to customers instead of moving it onto the grid.

Valar also has ambitions to produce hydrogen from its nuclear energy, combining its reactors with a process called the sulfur iodine cycle.

Reality check: The company's plans are hyper-ambitious for a young startup with a seed round. 

The big picture: Interest in SMRs is exploding as big tech firms are angling for more clean power and the Trump administration is looking to unlock more American nuclear power. 

What's next: Taylor says Valar's first gigasite could be in the Philippines, and he's also hopeful that the company could build one in the U.S., possibly Texas. 

Valar Atomics raises $19M with vision for big off-grid nuclear

The startup is building a test reactor in the Philippines

A rendering of a small modular nuclear reactor deployed next to an oil field

A rendering of a small modular nuclear reactor deployed next to an oil field. Image: Courtesy of Valar Atomics

Nuclear startup Valar Atomics has raised a $19 million seed round to help develop its first test reactor. Why it matters: The company has ambitious plans to build hundreds of small modular reactors at off-grid sites to power customers like data centers and industrial plants.

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Valar Atomics raises $19M with vision for big off-grid nuclear

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