Standard Nuclear, a reactor-agnostic producer of TRISO nuclear fuel, recently announced its launch from stealth with $42 million in total funding, led by Decisive Point with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, Washington Harbour Partners, Welara, Fundomo, and Crucible Capital.
Problem being addressed: As power demands surge for data centers, energy-intensive industries, and transportable energy solutions in defense and remote locations, Standard Nuclear is exclusively focused on supporting the advanced nuclear fuel supply chain through scaled production of TRISO, a critical and highly durable fuel for advanced nuclear reactors. And after decades of U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) scientific research, in 2019, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued a safety evaluation report confirming the exceptional performance and robust safety profile of TRISO fuel, marking a significant step toward its use in advanced nuclear reactors.
Next-generation nuclear reactors, such as small modular reactors (SMRs) and microreactors, will drive the future of reliable and flexible energy. However, these systems require specialized advanced nuclear fuels to unlock their full potential. Currently, few companies are producing TRISO fuel, and production is limited to small batches for proprietary reactor designs. As the country’s first and only independent TRISO fuel manufacturer without its own reactor development operations, Standard Nuclear’s model strengthens the advanced reactor supply chain by providing a reliable, independent source of fuel.
Standard Nuclear operates a set of fully equipped, commercial-scale facilities totaling 19,000 square feet, situated on its 36.8-acre campus located at the former K-25 Nuclear site in Oak Ridge, TN. And the company operates its fully permitted radiological facilities to manufacture and supply TRISO fuel forms with varying specifications for its multiple commercial and government customers.
The Standard Nuclear team comprises over two dozen employees with more than 150 years of combined experience at DOE National Laboratories. Founded in 2024, the company has booked $5 million in contracts in the first quarter of 2025, and signed a major fuel offtake agreement for over 1 MTU of fuel with an additional 1.5 MTU in negotiation, representing over $100 million in non-binding fuel sales for 2027.
In just a few months, the company has established strategic customer relationships for its various products and services with a diversified group of commercial and government customers, including Radiant Industries, Antares, Nano Nuclear Energy, Jimmy Energy, the U.S. Department of Energy National Laboratories, and the Department of Defense.
TRISO: Tristructural Isotropic (TRISO) particle fuel is made of tiny uranium-bearing spheres encapsulated by successive layers of carbon and ceramic-based materials. And each TRISO particle, about the size of a poppy seed, acts as its own containment system for uranium and its radioactive fission products, eliminating the possibility of a meltdown event.
The unique coated layer structure of TRISO particles enhances fuel performance and safety, making TRISO well-suited for high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs) and other emerging advanced nuclear reactors. TRISO production has been substantially de-risked, as its design and manufacturing processes have matured over six decades. Initially developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s for the Dragon Reactor, an HTGR, the technology saw meaningful advancements in the following decades. Following various phases of research, development, and occasional dormancy, the U.S. Department of Energy revived and began further improving TRISO fuel in 2002 with the Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR) Fuel Development and Qualification Program, focusing on modernization of the manufacturing and quality control methods, as well as irradiation performance tests of UCO fuel kernel system.
KEY QUOTES:
“As the demand for power accelerates, nuclear is a clear and practical solution. Advanced nuclear fuels like TRISO for small modular and micro-reactors are necessary to unleash American energy dominance and enable a future with abundant power. With the capital from this funding round, Standard Nuclear is positioned to deliver on our growing customer orders, accelerate our growth, and fill the domestic supply gap. We are rapidly scaling TRISO fuel production to advance our mission of securing the domestic supply chain and achieving energy independence.”
Thomas Hendrix, General Partner at Decisive Point and Executive Chairman of Standard Nuclear
“Most of the long-anticipated wave of advanced reactors finally arriving to market are harnessing the unique, inherent advantages of TRISO fuel—benefits that have been validated through decades of DOE and NRC investment and scientific rigor. These reactors can’t run without fuel, and we’re here to ensure there are no uncertainties in that supply. We’re not just delivering TRISO fuel at scale—we’re doing it at a cost that enables a robust, competitive, and sustainable advanced reactor industry.”
Dr. Kurt Terrani, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of Standard Nuclear
