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TerraPower Announces Funding Raised for Nuclear Technologies
September 20, 2022
Terrapower (Bellevue, WA) announced on August 15 the close of an equity raising effort that yielded $750 million. The effort was led by TerraPower founder Bill Gates and by SK Inc./SK Innovation (Seoul, South Korea). Additional funding will come from other investors. According to a press release from TerraPower, this effort will enhance the company’s “groundbreaking work in advanced nuclear energy technologies and nuclear medicine.”
“TerraPower is committed to solving some of the toughest challenges that face this generation through innovation,” said TerraPower President and CEO Chris Levesque. “Whether it’s addressing climate change with carbonfree advanced nuclear energy or fighting cancer with nuclear isotopes, our team is deploying technology solutions, and investors across the world are taking note.” TerraPower’s recent growth has been driven in part by a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP) award and the construction of the Natrium demonstration plant at a retiring coal facility in Wyoming. Part of the ARDP award requires a match of 50% of project costs, up to $2 billion.
The TerraPower Isotopes (TPI) program is “supporting the transformation of the fight against cancer by advancing the next generation of isotopes.” Across a range of partnerships, the program is focusing on isotopic materials harvested from DOE storage to be used in targeted a therapy. The press release noted that TPI has “unique access to 225Ac and is working to provide this isotope to the pharmaceutical community for the development of drugs that target and treat cancer.” TerraPower’s radiochemistry laboratory also supports other radioisotope development initiatives within the company as part of its nuclear innovation mission.
For more information on the TPI, visit: https://www.terrapower.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/2022-TPI-Isotopes.pdf.