Stealth Startup Raises $12M to Reinvent Nuclear Fuel Cycle
A new stealth startup, founded by a repeat climate-tech entrepreneur, has raised $12 million in funding. The company's stated goal is to rebuild the nuclear fuel cycle. The round reflects continued investor interest in "hard tech" ventures that are tackling fundamental challenges in energy and industrial supply chains.
- The startup, named Project Omega, was founded by Dr. Stafford Sheehan, a repeat entrepreneur who previously co-founded Air Company, a firm that developed a catalysis process to convert atmospheric carbon dioxide into products like jet fuel. - The $12 million seed round was led by Starship Ventures, a venture capital firm that backs "contrarian deep tech founders turning science fiction into reality" across sectors like aerospace, AI, and energy. Other investors include Mantis Ventures, Buckley Ventures, and Decisive Point. - Project Omega's primary goal is to convert spent nuclear fuel into long-duration, high-density power sources, with initial applications targeted for national security. This includes developing radioisotope generators for military use in wearables, sensors, and drones. - The company is partnering with the Department of Energy's ARPA-E and has engaged Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to test and evaluate its power systems, with a focus on potential space applications. - This venture addresses the significant challenge of accumulating nuclear waste; as of 2017, the U.S. had nearly 80,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel stored at commercial power plant sites. U.S. power plants generate approximately 2,000 additional metric tons of solid spent fuel annually. - The renewed interest in the nuclear fuel cycle is partly driven by the surging electricity demand from AI and data centers, which requires reliable, carbon-free baseload power that current renewable sources alone cannot consistently provide.
