Apollo Atomics wants to make nuclear power cheaper by shrinking an overlooked part

The atomic powerfulness manufacture is undergoing thing of a renaissance, with startups raking successful backing to make precocious reactors successful a quest to little costs. But based connected recent projections, it’s improbable those reactors volition beryllium cost-competitive anytime soon.

Assil Halimi and Drew Walker, the founders of Apollo Atomics, deliberation that’s due to the fact that companies person been chasing the incorrect problem. So alternatively of designing a caller reactor, Apollo is rethinking the mode thermal vigor is converted into electricity.

“We absorption connected the largest component, the steam generator,” Halimi, the startup’s CEO, told TechCrunch. “We person been capable to shrink that constituent and marque the full strategy mode much compact than immoderate different reactor successful the market.” 

A indispensable but unsexy portion of a powerfulness plant, these generators nutrient steam from the reactor’s coolant loop to thrust a turbine. While astir steam generators are hand-built and respective stories tall, Apollo says its mentation tin beryllium mass-manufactured and is astir the size of a person. That has allowed the startup to physique a reactor that’s 40-times smaller than 1 that uses a accepted steam generator.

To physique a objection reactor up of a planned commercialized deployment successful 2028, Apollo precocious closed a $26 cardinal effect circular that included $5 cardinal successful debt, the institution exclusively told TechCrunch. Apollo’s plan is based connected probe from MIT.

Halimi projects an Apollo powerfulness works tin make energy astatine a complaint of 3 cents per kilowatt hour. “We don’t privation to beryllium incremental successful atomic and conscionable amended a tiny thing,” helium said. “Our people is to bushed earthy gas.”

Existing steam generators person near plentifulness of country for improvement, Halimi said. Old designs get heavy from those utilized by ember and earthy state powerfulness plants, but some of those fossil fuels person acold little vigor density than atomic fuels similar uranium. “You person this high-potential fuel, but you’re converting conscionable a tiny portion of it,” helium said, pointing to however existent generators neglect to marque the astir of atomic substance sources.

Most steam generators tally reactor coolant done a bid of ample tubes, which are surrounded by the h2o utilized to marque steam. Apollo’ generator would thread the 2 fluid loops done a compact artifact of metallic that’s laced with needle-thin channels — a setup that would let vigor to beryllium transferred much efficiently, which successful crook lets the institution shrink its size.

With the compactness of the generator successful mind, Apollo plans connected assembling the reactor and steam generator successful a mill alternatively than connected site, which is the lawsuit with atomic powerfulness plants today. Between the labour savings and smaller size, Halimi expects Apollo volition beryllium capable to physique a 300-megawatt powerfulness works successful little than 24 months, and predicts the reactor itself to outgo 4 to 5 times little to nutrient than existing designs.

Apollo has already built a small, 40-kilowatt reactor astatine MIT to show the technology. It plans to connection 3 sizes, ranging from 10 megawatts-electric to 300 megawatts.

FCVC led the backing round, with Telesoft Partners, Y Combinator, Alumni Ventures, Robinhood Ventures, Nucleation Capital, Pelion VC, Duke Capital Partners, New Era Ventures, Orange Collective, Stanford University, E14 Fund, and Neutron Power Ventures participating. Apollo was portion of Y Combinator’s Spring 2026 batch.