Apollo Atomics wants to make nuclear power cheaper by shrinking an overlooked part; plus, Detroit startup Grounded raises $5M to customize electric and gas-powered vans

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0:30place like Chrome. Check responses set up required compatibility and availability varies 18+. The nuclear power industry is undergoing something of a renaissance, with startups raking in funding to develop advanced reactors in a quest to lower costs. But based on recent projections, it's unlikely those reactors will be cost-competitive anytime soon. Asil Halimi and Drew Walker, the founders of Apollo Atomics, think that's because companies have been chasing the wrong problem. So instead of designing a new reactor, Apollo is rethinking the way thermal energy is converted into electricity. Halimi, the startup's CEO, told TechCrunch, we focus on the largest component, the steam generator.

1:16We've been able to shrink that component and make the whole system way more compact than any other reactor in the market. A necessary but unsexy part of a power plant, these generators produce steam from the reactor's coolant loop to drive a turbine. While most steam generators are hand-built and several stories tall, Apollo says its version can be mass-manufactured and is about the size of a person. That has allowed the startup to build a reactor that's 40 times smaller than one that uses a conventional steam generator. To build a demonstration reactor ahead of a planned commercial deployment in 2028, Apollo recently closed a$26 million seed round that included$5 million in debt.

2:01Apollo's design is based on research from MIT. Halimi projects an Apollo power plant can generate electricity at a rate of$0.03 per kilowatt hour. Existing steam generators have left plenty of room for improvement, Halimi says. Old designs borrow heavily from those used by coal and natural gas power plants, but both of those fossil fuels have far lower energy density than nuclear fuels like uranium. Halimi said, you have this high-potential fuel, but you're converting just a small piece of it. Now, most steam generators run reactor coolant through a series of large tubes, which are surrounded by the water used to make steam.

2:43Apollo's generator would thread the two fluid loops through a compact block of metal that's laced with needle-thin channels, a setup that would allow heat to be transferred more efficiently, which in turn lets the company shrink its size. With the compactness of the generator in mind, Apollo plans on assembling the reactor and steam generator in a factory rather than on-site, which is the case with nuclear power plants today. Between the labor savings and smaller size, Halimi expects Apollo to be able to build a 300-megawatt power plant in less than 24 months, and predicts the reactor itself to cost four to five times less to produce than existing designs.

3:27Apollo has already built a small 40-kilowatt reactor at MIT to demonstrate the technology. It plans to offer three sizes, ranging from 10 megawatts electric to 300 megawatts. FCVC led the funding round with Telesoft Partners, Y Combinator, Alumni Ventures, Robinhood Ventures, Nucleation Capital, Pellion VC, Duke Capital Partners, New Era Ventures, Orange Collective, Stanford University, and others.

3:59Detroit-based startup Grounded has had to be flexible since it was founded back in 2022. The startup was initially built around the idea of customizing electric vans like Ford's e-Transit and General Motors' Bright Drop for the van life set using a modular Lego-like system. Sensing a bigger opportunity, Grounded then started customizing those vans for small businesses. But then GM discontinued bright drop last year, Ford axed plans for a next-generation electric transit van, and EVs generally became a harder sell in the United States. Now, that has not stopped Grounded. On Tuesday, the startup announced that it has closed a$5 million seed round with repeat investments from existing backers.

4:46Also, Capital and Chicago-based early-stage firm The 81 Collection, along with Animal Capital, the Michigan Outdoor Innovation Fund, and various SpaceX alumni. Grounded has also opened a new 50 ,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Detroit, where it will take its core modular design business and scale it to be vehicle agnostic, allowing the startup to customize fit to the different kinds of fleet needs, be they electric or combustion-powered. Production at the facility starts this month, according to the startup, with capacity ramping up next year. CEO Sam Shapiro said, This new facility is a turning point for us.

5:28We built this company to bring smart, modular electric vehicles to the businesses and institutions that keep our cities running. With this expansion, we can finally build at the scale our fleet customers need and bring our platform to an entirely new class of commercial vehicles. Grounded has already snapped up customers in the commercial, medical, and even veterinary sectors. In a statement on Tuesday, Grounded's chief product officer, Nadia Meyer, said the company is seeing notable growth from food and beverage and public safety customers. For Shapiro, GM's cancellation of Bright Drop was a catalyzing moment.

6:04He wrote in a blog post late last year that Grounded would embrace gas-powered vehicles, allowing the startup to build on far more popular models like Ford's combustion-powered Transit and Mercedes-Benz's Sprinter vans. It's also allowed Grounded to seek out customers who were not ready for electric vehicles due to infrastructure challenges. Shapiro said at the time that Grounded would exhaust the remaining available Bright Drop inventory while it pivoted to new models, including leveraging electric and hybrid options from fellow startup Harbinger. That's all for now. For the latest in startup tech news, go to TechCrunch.com.

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