Companies developing small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) have raised over $1.5 billion in the past year, signaling a significant shift towards clean energy solutions. This surge in investment is largely driven by tech giants' growing demand for power to train AI models and governments' commitment to reducing carbon emissions.

The recent funding rounds include X-energy's $700 million raise, Paris-based Newcleo's $151 million, and similar investments in Oklo, NuScale, and Nano Nuclear in the U.S. However, one startup that stands out is Valar Atomics, which has secured $19 million in seed funding to develop its first test reactor. The financing was led by Riot Ventures, with AlleyCorp, Initialized Capital, Day One Ventures, and Steel Atlas participating.

Valar's SMR technology is based on a helium-cooled, high-temperature gas reactor, which will be built in a "gigasite" – a production line of SMRs similar to a battery gigafactory. This approach aims to drastically reduce the costs associated with building nuclear reactors, traditionally bespoke projects. According to Valar's co-founder and CEO, Isaiah Taylor, the constraint on building reactors lies not in the technology but in its deployment, which he hopes to fix with an "industrial" rather than "artisanal" approach.

The company plans to build hundreds of SMRs at predominantly off-grid sites to power data centers and industrial plants. Valar has already secured an initial contract with the Philippines Nuclear Research Institute to build a reactor in the country, with plans to pilot a test-scale reactor, followed by two full-scale reactors before the first integrated reactor comes online. Taylor envisions a factory-like production process, where the first reactor will organically evolve into a factory.

Valar's technology uses helium gas to reach temperatures up to 900°C – triple that of conventional nuclear reactors. This enables the efficient production of hydrogen, which can be combined with captured CO2 to create low-carbon synthetic fuels for vehicles and infrastructure. Taylor believes that if they can produce hydrogen cheaply, they can unlock a range of possibilities, including synthetic fuels.

The company's technical efforts are led by its chief nuclear officer, Mark Mitchell, former president of modular reactor firm Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation (USNC), and leader of the world's first small modular reactor project at South Africa's Pebble Bed Modular Reactor. The startup's team also includes several experts from USNC, including its head of mechanical engineering, Willem van Rooyen.

Valar's ambitious plans seem to be riding on the tailwinds of favorable market conditions. The U.S.' Inflation Reduction Act has unlocked private investment into clean energy infrastructure, while China is investing $440 billion in new nuclear plants. Furthermore, 14 of the world's largest banks have expressed support for tripling nuclear energy by 2050. As the demand for clean energy solutions continues to grow, SMRs are poised to play a significant role in the global energy landscape.

With Valar Atomics and other SMR startups leading the charge, the future of nuclear energy looks promising. As Taylor aptly put it, "If you can get a nuclear reactor that hot, you can produce hydrogen very cheaply, and you unlock all sorts of things." As the industry continues to evolve, one thing is clear – SMRs are today's hot atomic property, and their potential to transform the energy landscape cannot be ignored.