In perhaps a matter of weeks, Bill Gates-backed TerraPower expects to receive federal permits to begin building the nuclear components of its first-of-a-kind, next-generation power plant in Wyoming.
The permits will put the company “a year ahead of anyone else,” predicted TerraPower CEO Chris Levesque. “We just keep proving that we’re the leading nuclear project in the U.S.”
After being largely mothballed for decades, America’s nuclear sector has kicked into hyper speed as tech giants scramble to power data centers nationwide and energy demands are spiking for commercial, residential and industrial uses.
TerraPower, which launched 20 years ago, aims to be the first in the U.S. to deliver on a new model of smaller, less expensive nuclear reactors that can be produced in three years from fabricated components — instead of the past approach of constructing giant, one-off structures that take a decade to erect.
The company is waiting for a green light from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to break ground on the crucial next phase of its demonstration plant, whose construction in Kemmerer, Wyo., began in 2024. The goal is to start splitting atoms there by the end of 2030.
TerraPower’s Natrium technology features 345 megawatt nuclear devices that include a molten-salt thermal battery that increases output to 500 megawatts of power for limited periods.
The Bellevue, Wash.-based company has announced a string of new partnerships supporting its operations:
- It recently signed a deal with Meta to build up to eight advanced reactors in the U.S. with the first two coming online as soon as 2032. If the full order is fulfilled, all of the reactors aim to be operational by 2035. The companies are exploring multiple sites for the facilities.
- TerraPower shared last week that the electric utility giant Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) is now an investor, joining via a previously announced $250 million investment by SK, a South Korean multinational conglomerate.
- Last year, the company announced memorandums of understanding with government departments in Utah and Kansas to explore the potential siting of Natrium reactors in those states.
- TerraPower and HD Hyundai last March announced a collaboration in which the South Korean company will help manufacture components for the Natrium reactor.
“We plan to build hundreds of Natrium reactors,” Levesque told GeekWire. “We’re very focused on delivering the first one on time,” he added, and then quickly begin scaling.
A slate of challenges
TerraPower is competing against a slate of next-gen nuclear companies. Oklo was part of the announcement from Meta to support nuclear deployments, and could have a reactor operating as early as 2030 under the deal. Kairos Power is building a demonstration reactor in Tennessee in collaboration with Google that aims to come online that same year.
Last month, the U.S. Department of Energy awarded two grants supporting nuclear projects, one to the Tennessee Valley Authority to build a plant in that state and another to Holtec Government Services, which has a project in Michigan. Earlier this summer, X-energy and Amazon shared updates on a planned facility in Eastern Washington.
While TerraPower’s leadership is bullish on its prospects, there are plenty of hurdles ahead. They include limited supplies of reactor fuel, ongoing concerns about nuclear reactor safety, and construction cost challenges as designs evolve and a supply chain takes shape.
Finding fuel sources: Russia was the world’s only commercial producer of HALEU (high-assay, low-enriched uranium fuel, pronounced hay-lou), but that source was cut off after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Since then, the U.S. has restarted and been ramping up its domestic fuel production.
Levesque said the company will have what it needs for the Wyoming reactor, and is working with partners in South Africa and the U.S. to manufacture additional supplies.
Safety concerns: There are ongoing fears about the potential for a nuclear reactor to meltdown and release radioactive material, and concerns about the disposal and storage of spent fuel that remains radioactive for thousands of years.
At a recent public hearing in Olympia, Wash., regarding the potential for new nuclear facilities in the state, multiple participants cited worries about nuclear safety and environmental contamination.
Cost concerns: Research from Boston University analyzed nuclear plant construction costs going back decades, finding they were on average double the expected price tag, running nearly $2 billion over.
Levesque acknowledged the poor record, but said that as TerraPower goes into production mode, lessons learned from the demonstration project and each additional reactor will be incorporated to cut costs. He pointed to the SpaceX aerospace company as a model for that iterative approach.
But even if costs are controlled, some utility customers have expressed worries about who will pay for the deployment of the facilities and whether the projects will drive up electric bills.
The Wyoming plant was estimated in 2021 to cost about $4 billion; no updated figures have been provided. Levesque said private investments and a $2 billion federal grant mean that “we’re building that project without burdening the ratepayers.”
Pining for nuclear
And demand for nuclear has never been greater. “Almost any governor in the country now wants a nuclear plant,” Levesque said.
While wind and solar installations have expanded across America, electricity demand is projected to soar over the next years and decades. And while these renewable power sources are increasingly being paired with energy storage solutions such as giant batteries, nuclear is attractive for its 24/7 production capabilities.
Levesque said the company is being cautious in signing future deals, recognizing that it will be mid-2030s until it can hit its initial target of producing six reactors a year.
“We’re very careful not to over promise or over commit,” he said.
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