NVIDIA wants to enter the nuclear renaissance, and invest in Bill-Gates backed by Terrapower

TerrapowerThe start -up startup and supported by Bill Gates announced a new financing of $ 650 million this week. Investment will help the company build the first commercial power plant.

Like other nuclear startup companies, Terrapower was riding a A wave of attention From the surplus designers, the developer of the data center, and now, the chips designers. NVIDIA, NVENTERES, participated in the tour, which represents the first energy investment.

Bill Gates and HD Hyundai, both of which are already on the maximum table, also invested.

Terrapower It started building the first power plant in Wyoming in June 2024. The company does not have approval of the same reactor, although it expects to obtain permits at some point next year. Looking at the Trump administration’s benign position towards the nuclear, this schedule seems reasonable.

Upon completion, the first Terrapower 345 MW of electricity reactor will be born, which is drawn between the huge traditional reactors today and the standardized reactors tomorrow.

Natrapower reactors are not cooled in Terrapower, not by water, but by molten sodium. Natrium design uses much more than sodium than required to cool the reactor. This is according to the design: When the demand is low, the reactor can continue to run, and heat the sodium that is then stored in the large tanks.

When the demand rises again, steam turbines can derive the heat from the stored sodium. Since nuclear power plants do not leak easily and down, this allows natrium reactors to continue working in a stable condition.

The storage system is designed to produce up to 500 megawatts of electricity for more than five hours, which helps fill the gaps in solar energy and generate wind.

The emerging company previously followed a different design of the reactor, which it hoped to complete by mid 2020. But after the uncertainty was fixed, the path has changed to follow the current natrium design.

Terrapower claims that he can complete a reactor within three years after pouring the first batch of concrete of the reactor. However, a large setting and location should occur before this happens.

Although there are signs that the first natrium reactor will be cheaper than modern American reactors, it will not be cheap: the Associated Press reported last year that the draft law could reach 4 billion dollarsHalf it can be borne by the Ministry of Energy.