Crunchbase News notes big year for venture investments in nuclear power
As noted in posts over the past year or so, there’s been a resurgence in the number of companies interested in establishing operations in Oak Ridge to capitalize on the nuclear heritage of the area, either fission or fusion research underway at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and opportunities to work with TVA, the nation’s largest public utility.
That interest was particularly apparent during the recent “Nuclear Opportunities Workshop” organized by the East Tennessee Economic Council. To underscore the rapidly emerging interest, Crunchbase News reports that “nuclear power is having a big year for venture funding, and it’s not just fusion start-ups that are attracting capital. A Crunchbase analysis of investment in nuclear projects shows companies pursuing both fission- and fusion-powered technologies have racked up huge rounds of late. Collectively, they’ve pulled in over $3.4 billion this past year.”
Crunchbase News cited TerraPower, a venture founded by Bill Gates and other climate-focused backers around the idea that the private sector needed to take action in developing advanced nuclear energy to meet growing electricity needs. The Bellevue, WA-based company raised $750 million recently in equity financing led by Gates and South Korea’s SK Group.
Click here to learn more.
