Apollo Atomics wants to make nuclear power cheaper by shrinking an overlooked part
Y Combinator alumnus Apollo Atomics is shrinking a key nuclear reactor part, which promises to slash the cost of electricity below natural gas.
Apollo Atomics, a company in the nuclear power industry, aims to make nuclear power cheaper by focusing on a small but crucial component: the steam generator. This part of a power plant is responsible for converting the reactor's thermal energy into electricity via a turbine. Traditionally, steam generators are large, hand-built structures that require significant labor and space, which can drive up costs.
Apollo Atomics, however, has devised a way to shrink these generators down to a size comparable to a person, making them much more compact and cost-effective.
The startup, founded by Assil Halimi and Drew Walker, has introduced a novel design for steam generators that could significantly reduce the size of nuclear power plants. By mass-manufacturing their compact generators, Apollo Atomics can produce electricity at a rate of 3 cents per kilowatt-hour, substantially lower than the current cost of 10 cents per kilowatt-hour for new nuclear power plants.
This cost advantage is due to the efficiency of their design, which allows for better heat transfer and more effective use of nuclear fuel.
Apollo Atomics's innovative steam generators are based on research from MIT and are designed to run reactor coolant through a compact block of metal with needle-thin channels, enhancing heat transfer and reducing the overall size of the system. This approach enables the company to build a full-scale power plant, capable of generating 300 megawatts of electricity, in less than 24 months at a fraction of the cost of traditional nuclear reactors.
Apollo Atomics has already demonstrated the feasibility of their technology with a 40-kilowatt reactor built at MIT. They plan to offer three sizes of reactors, ranging from 10 to 300 megawatts, and have raised $26 million in seed funding to move towards commercial deployment by 2028. The funding round included $5 million in debt, with investors such as FCVC, Telesoft Partners, Y Combinator, and various venture capital firms.
By focusing on a single, often overlooked aspect of nuclear power generation, Apollo Atomics is betting that their approach will revolutionize the industry and make nuclear power a more competitive and affordable energy source.
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