Apollo Atomics Secures $26M Seed Round to Develop Compact Nuclear Steam Generators

Funding for Compact Nuclear Technology

Apollo Atomics, a startup focused on nuclear power innovation, announced it has closed a $26 million seed funding round. This funding includes $5 million in debt and will support the development of its compact steam generator technology. The company plans to build a demonstration reactor with a commercial deployment targeted for 2028.

Rethinking Steam Generation in Nuclear Power

Instead of developing new reactor designs, Apollo Atomics is concentrating on the steam generator, a critical component that converts thermal energy from the reactor's coolant into electricity. The founders, Assil Halimi and Drew Walker, believe that existing steam generators are oversized and inefficient, contributing to the high costs of nuclear power.

Apollo's approach involves shrinking this component significantly. While traditional steam generators are large and often hand-built, Apollo's version is designed for mass manufacturing and is about the size of a person. This reduction in size allows for a nuclear reactor that is 40 times smaller than those using conventional steam generators.

Efficiency and Cost Reduction Goals

The core of Apollo's innovation lies in its heat transfer method. Unlike current designs that use large tubes, Apollo's generator threads fluid loops through a compact metal block with needle-thin channels. This setup is intended to transfer heat more efficiently, enabling the size reduction.

Apollo Atomics projects that its power plants could generate electricity at a rate of 3 cents per kilowatt-hour. This cost target aims to make nuclear power competitive with natural gas, addressing a key challenge in the nuclear industry's efforts to lower costs.