Nuclear Startup to Deploy Pilot Microreactor at Texas A&M Campus

(Bloomberg) -- Last Energy Inc., an Austin-based nuclear startup, plans to test its pilot microreactor on a campus of Texas A&M University as the race for small modular reactors heats up amid growing energy demand for artificial intelligence.

The project, the company’s first reactor deployment, was selected by the US Department of Energy for fast-tracked licensing, following an executive order by President Donald Trump to reform and accelerate nuclear reactor development, Last Energy said in a statement on Wednesday.

For Last Energy, the goal for the pilot program is to start powering the Texas A&M campus grid as soon as mid-2026 and then to deploy the first commercial unit in two to three years, Chief Executive Officer Bret Kugelmass said in an interview.

Going commercial will require approval from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Meantime, the DOE’s pilot program is calling for reactors to “achieve criticality” by July 4. 

Last Energy is building a 20-megawatt commercial scale unit, but plans to operate it at five megawatts for this test. At commercial scale, these plug-and-play reactors would cost roughly $100 million, Kugelmass said. The plants use the same technology and nuclear fuel configurations as existing large reactors, he said.

There is a rush across the energy industry to accelerate next-generation nuclear reactors as a way to deploy more zero-carbon, around-the-clock power to feed the voracious appetite of AI data centers. However, the technology is still largely unproven and costly. 

Last Energy signed a lease to build its first reactor at Texas A&M’s RELLIS technology and innovation campus in Bryan, Texas. RELLIS beat out other sites because it’s “a playground for frontier tech” and also because the company wants to initially focus on the Texas power market, Kugelmass said.

Last Energy’s reactor will be connected to Texas A&M’s microgrid, which is then connected to the broader state grid, said David Staack, deputy vice chancellor for research at Texas A&M’s engineering school.

Earlier this year, the university signed deals with four companies to test different reactor technologies in a bid to become an innovation center for nuclear power.

“Last Energy is the first one we’re announcing,” Staack said. “It’s not the last one.”

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