Nuclear power is often talked about as a source of low-carbon electricity. The cost and construction time remain harder to solve.
Manchester-based Nuclear Turbines has come out of stealth with 15 million pounds in funding for a nuclear system designed around a different way of turning reactor heat into electricity. IQ Capital led the round joined by Rhapsody Venture Partners, Zero Carbon Capital and Empirical Ventures.
The company was founded in 2025 by former BAE Systems principal engineer Jeremy Owston and University of Manchester nuclear engineer Professor Tim Abram. It was developed with Empirical Ventures’ venture studio. Spun out of BAE Systems through the company’s commercialization program.
Most nuclear plants use steam systems to convert reactor heat into electricity. Nuclear Turbines is replacing that setup with high-temperature turbine technology already used in jet engines and gas-fired power stations. Its reactor directly heats compressed air before sending it through a turbine to generate power.
Removing steam infrastructure could make the system smaller and simpler. The company says this would allow units to operate “behind the meter” at sites supplying electricity directly to data centers, factories and other energy-heavy facilities rather than depending entirely on the wider grid.
Owstons starting point was the power-conversion system than the reactor itself. The company then designed a reactor to work with that turbine architecture. This approach is intended to reduce both the footprint and cost structure that have limited conventional nuclear development.
The 15 million pounds will support design and validation work, the construction of large-scale test rigs and additional hiring. Nuclear Turbines is also preparing to manufacture its fuel elements as the technology moves beyond its initial engineering phase.
Alongside the funding the company appointed Lauren Dickerson as commercial and strategy officer. She previously spent than four years as strategy director at Centrica and will work on partnerships, commercialization and external relations.
The opportunity is clear. Industrial companies and data-center operators need electricity that is available around the clock while grid delays and high power costs are becoming constraints on expansion. Nuclear Turbines believes a modular system located closer to the customer could address both problems.
The company is still, at a stage. Reactor licensing, fuel supply, manufacturing, safety validation and project financing will take time. The funding gives Nuclear Turbines the resources to test its design. Commercial success will depend on whether the system can deliver the lower costs and simpler deployment the company is targeting.
Source : Tech.eu
