Startup unveils 3D-printed nuclear reactor module to power AI data centers —touted as ‘the world’s first subcritical, solid-state, factory-built thorium nuclear reactor’

Ampera, a nuclear tech startup, just revealed its first full-scale, 3D-printed nuclear reactor module that it says could be used to power AI data centers. According to the company’s press release, this module is the “world’s first subcritical, solid-state, factory-built thorium nuclear reactor.” It’s also the nuclear part of the company’s Integrated Energy Architecture, which comes with a Waste Heat Recovery module that could also be paired with either this 3D-printed nuclear reactor module or a Conventional-Fueled Power Generation module.

"This next-generation nuclear core and pressure vessel sets the foundation for factory-built, mass-produced nuclear energy," said Ampera CEO and founder Brian Matthews. "The advanced technology and additive manufacturing used demonstrate a clear commercial path for new nuclear technology coming to market in an accelerated manner."

The company’s description for its groundbreaking product is quite a mouthful, but it shows how advanced this nuclear reactor is. Subcritical means that its fuel does not reach criticality on its own, requiring an external source to jump-start the fission process. This is inherently safer because it reduces the chance of a runaway reaction that could lead to a meltdown. It also features a “solid-state” core, meaning it does not have any moving parts, making maintenance and operation simpler.

Factory-built suggests that the nuclear module could be manufactured relatively quickly in a production line. This would make it easier to scale for mass production and transport via shipping containers, thus cutting production costs to make it more affordable. Lastly, it uses thorium as its primary fuel source. Thorium is more abundant than uranium, so it’s easier and cheaper to acquire. It’s also not inherently fissile, requiring an external neutron source to produce protactinium-233, which then decays into U-233. While it could still be used for nuclear weapons, it’s relatively harder to do so, which is why the World Nuclear Association says that it “is sometimes promoted as having excellent non-proliferation credentials.”

While the startup unveiled the finished nuclear module, it didn’t mention turning it on and producing electricity with the system yet. This is in contrast to Valar Atomics, which turned on its Ward 250 nuclear microreactor recently and produced electricity to power an Nvidia RTX Spark desktop. Its CEO, Isiah Taylor, also announced that it’s partnering with Nvidia to power a 30MW data center using its technology.

Ampera is also targeting a 30MWe output with its complete system using a proprietary closed-loop, supercritical CO2 Brayton-cycle turbine to produce energy. One advantage of its modular approach to developing its power solution is that customers can purchase them as necessary. It can match the turbine module with its Waste Heat Recovery module to supplement power production in data centers, or it could attach a Conventional-Fueled Power Generation unit to the entire unit as a site’s primary power source. Once the nuclear module becomes available, operators could then easily swap that out to reduce their carbon footprint.

The company did not give a timeline for when it expects to start producing power with their solution, but it seems that they’re confident that they could deploy it soon in various applications. "Our reactors are built for the markets that need power the most: AI data centers, defense, industrial and maritime," Matthews said. "We expect to be the first company to industrialize factory-built nuclear power with near-term deployment timelines."

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