Core Power

Nucleation invested into Core Power, a company dedicated to bringing nuclear into marine applications, as our first investment in Q3 2021. 

CORE Power is part of a consortium that includes TerraPower, Southern and Orano developing the Moltern Chloride Fast Reactor.

We are extremely excited and pleased to provide the following confidential report to you as a Nucleation Capital Q3 subscriber. Nucleation Capital closed on an equity investment in Core-Power UK at the end of Q3. 

Core-Power is part of the TerraPower, Southern Co., Orano consortium that applied for a DOE Risk Reduction grant and was successfully awarded $113 million by the DOE for work on a molten chloride fast reactor. TerraPower is a privately-held advanced nuclear venture founded by Bill Gates; Southern Co. and Orano are highly experienced nuclear technology development and construction partners for the MCFR.

Core-Power's area of expertise is in marinization and they are now under an MOU with TerraPower and negotiating to hold the exclusive rights to deploy TerraPower's Molten Chloride Fast Reactor into marine markets.  Not only does Core plan to work to decarbonize ocean transport in the international shipping industry, they would also hold the rights to market the MCFR for use in any other commercial marine application, such as for manufacturing/production barges, including those that might be used to produce hydrogen on off-shore floating platforms. They could also help groups that wish to deploy barge-mounted mobil nuclear power plants that sail to the port where power is needed urgently and connect that power source to the local grid. 

Core-Power has very deep ties within the shipping transport industry. Aside from Nucleation Capital, there were no other VC firms in this deal. Instead, most of the nearly $15 million that was raised in this Series B came from the owners of the largest shipping companies in the world. These relationships are a major strategic asset and Core anticipates earning interim revenue from these prospective customers by working to help them prepare their fleets for conversion to the MCFR. 

Rod and I were very pleased to have been able to participate in this funding round. The absence of other VCs only emphasizes just how unique Nucleation Capital is and how potentially instrumental we can be in starting to bridge the funding gap in this sector.

We first made contact with Core in 2019, started doing due diligence on their Series B towards the end of Q2 and continued through Q3. We invested considerable time into conducting our own full due diligence, rather than relying on a larger fund to have done this work. Core's equity is leveraged 3-to-1 by the private capital provided by their consortium partners, TerraPower, Southern and Orano. This total capital is further leveraged 4-to-1 by the $113 million non-dilutive 80/20 grant from the DOE, which we believe aids the consortium’s and Core's prospects for success considerably.