US nuclear company Last Energy has raised $40m (€36m) in Series B funding, bringing total capital raised to $64m since the company’s founding in 2019.
The Washington based company, which is developing a 20 MW micro-nuclear power plant, said the Series B funding will enable it to continue expanding its team and investing in project development as it works to deploy its first plant, targeting a 2026 online date.
Investors for the round include US-based venture capital firms Gigafund and Autodesk Foundation, and a series of family offices.
Last Energy also announced that it has reached commercial agreements for 80 units. The company said it has “incredibly ambitious” goals, aiming to build 10,000 units in the next 15 years, though to date it has not brought any online.
It said 39 of the 80 units will be built to serve data centre developers. Due to the uniquely intensive energy needs of services like AI and cloud computing, data centres have increasingly invested in nuclear development to ensure they have access to 24/7 clean baseload power, Last Energy said.
It said: “Microreactors offer a significantly higher energy capacity than renewables at a lower cost, with minimal land requirements, and without any of the necessary investments in storage capabilities.”
In April, Last Energy showcased a prototype of its nuclear reactor module at the Data Center World conference in Washington and hosted a demonstration event for industry executives and US policymakers.
Two New Prototypes Planned For 2025
The company has plans for two new prototypes, which will be revealed in 2025.
The startup claims that its microreactor is designed to be fabricated, transported, and built within 24 months, and is the right size to serve industrial clients. Under its business model, Last Energy aims to build, own, and operate its power plant at the customer’s site.
A Last Energy plant, referred to as the PWR-20, is comprised of a few dozen modules that snap together like a LEGO kit.
Like an independent power producer, Last Energy will not sell power plants. Instead, it will sell electricity to customers through long-term power-purchase contracts.
Bret Kugelmass, the company’s founder and chief executive officer, said that in the last eight months the company released a new prototype, demonstrated its fabrication and transport capabilities, nearly doubled its headcount, and accelerated commercial growth.
“Closing our Series B was the next step to unlocking key milestones as we continue down the path toward commercial operations.”
