#advanced-reactors

#advanced-reactors

"We were considering multiple forms of capital when we started. It just felt like the opportunity is so large that venture capital gives us the opportunity to take those risks upfront and have the possibility to generate an outsized return."

Meta's agreement with Entergy to build and finance seven new power plants in Louisiana will significantly enhance the energy infrastructure needed for its AI data center complex, Hyperion. The total of 10 power plants will provide enough energy to power over 5 million homes, representing a substantial increase in the state's grid capacity.

The group points out, correctly, that the grid is designed for brief bursts of high demand; most of the time there's lots of capacity that goes unused. Utilize thinks that should change. The group argues that smarter ways to use that capacity already exist. Utilize name checks a number of those solutions, including battery storage, demand response, and virtual power plants, all of which have emerged en masse over the last decade, but remain under utilized.

The DOE issued a Request for Information (RFI) on Wednesday, seeking responses from states that may be interested in hosting the campuses, which will operate a "full‑cycle nuclear ecosystem." In practice, this means these sites will be expected to provide facilities for atomic waste reprocessing and disposal, in addition to fuel fabrication and enrichment. They may also serve as locations for nuclear reactors and co‑located datacenters powered by them.

Fusion power promises to supply the world with large amounts of clean heat and electricity, if researchers and engineers can solve some vexing challenges. At its core, fusion power seeks to harness the power of the Sun. To do that, fusion startups must figure out how to heat and compress plasma for long enough that atoms inside the mix fuse, releasing energy in the process.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) will create a "pipeline" of projects meeting readiness criteria, offering a "concierge-style" service to help the developers navigate UK planning, regulations, and secure private investment. DESNZ says emerging nuclear technologies like small modular reactors (SMRs) can be prefabricated in factories, enabling faster, cheaper assembly using skilled jobs across multiple regions. These reactors can provide clean energy to the grid or directly to industrial users, it claims.

The pioneering technology means one of the oldest forms of energy storage, hydropower, can be used to store and release renewable energy using even gentle slopes rather than the steep dam walls and mountains that are usually required. The design means the principles of hydropower could be used as a form of long duration energy storage in many more locations across the UK, and the world, than traditional hydropower dams. The projects could be quicker and cheaper to build too.