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Standard nuclear power came out of stealth on Wednesday with $ 42 million in funding to make an advanced nuclear fuel.
Except that standard nuclear is not an entirely new company. Rather, it is built on assets purchased at auction after the bankruptcy of the Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation (USNC) for $ 28 million. The CEO of the new company, Kurt Terrani, was vice-president at the USNC.
The financing tour was led by Decisive Point with the participation of Andreessen Horowitz, Crucible Capital, Fundomo and Washington Harbor Partners.
Standard Nuclear says that he has $ 100 million in non -binding fuel sales for 2027, and that he is working with customers such as Nano Nuclear Energy, who has acquired other USNC assets in bankruptcy and radiant industries auction, another decisive points of points. In a statement to Techcrunch, Standard Nuclear recognized the purchase of bankruptcy, claiming that it “accelerates the launch” of its calendar.
The USNC had worked to market a type of nuclear fuel known as Triso, which is a cheek of uranium fuel covered with layers of carbon and ceramic materials. Particles the size of a poppy seed are considered more resistant to melting, and they can be loaded in larger spheres or cylinders.
Triso is an old idea – it has existed since the 1950s – although fuel is not widely used today. This can change as several startups, including Kairos supported by Google And Energy x supported by Amazonplan to use Triso in their reactors.
Although the USNC was based on relatively known technology, the business path was tumultuous.
The USNC was substantially funded by an investor, Richard Hollis Helms and his family, who, over the years, had plowed $ 100 million in the USNC with $ 24.7 million in loans. In terms of a single investor startup, the company had a sprawling business model, developing not only the triso nuclear fuel, but also two different reactor designs, a nuclear space propulsion system and a nuclear heating source for spacecrafts.
It is not easy from where Helms’ interest in new generation nuclear comes. He began his career with the CIA as arabist in the Middle East. His wife was apparently a spy too: “By lying to their children and pretending to have routine office jobs, Richard and Teresa continued their international clandestine careers” necrology said; He died in May 2024. “Once certain that their son was not running and would not say, they announced the news of their children by showing them the film” True Lies “.
Helms withdrew from the CIA following September 11 “[w]The agency’s thumb did not call the deep expertise of its colleagues, “said his Billology. He used his retirement to find two national security companies: Abraxis, which sold For 124 million dollars in 2010, and Ntrepid, which is still in private.
In 2022, the USNC began to seek investors to participate in a series A, according to judicial deposits. But the company had been slow to generate significant income, and on the death of Helms, the debts of the company accelerated. Publications On Reddit Suggest that the company was not paying at the time.
USNC said bankruptcy in October 2024. Standard nuclear, Conded at this point By the founder of decisive points, Thomas Hendrix, entered hideing For assets linked to the USNC fuel for $ 28 million in the same month. The sale was completed in February, including ownership which is now used as a basis for standard nuclear operations.
