TerraPower, the nuclear company backed by Bill Gates and NVIDIA, has passed the Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff’s final safety evaluation for its Natrium reactor in Wyoming — a major step toward becoming the first next-generation, utility-scale reactor in the U.S. The Natrium system combines a 345 MW small modular reactor with a molten-salt thermal battery that can boost output to 500 MW for hours.
The NRC found no safety barriers to issuing a construction permit, keeping TerraPower on track for planned power generation by 2030 near a retiring coal plant. The project comes amid rising demand for nuclear energy from AI-hungry tech companies. TerraPower has raised over $1.6 billion in private funding plus $2 billion from the U.S. Department of Energy. Additional licensing steps remain before the reactor can begin operating.
Source: GeekWire
