Antares Nuclear, a California startup founded in 2023, has raised $470 million to build microreactors for US military bases. The company’s R1 microreactor generates between 100 kWe and 1 MWe and can operate for over six years without refueling, allowing remote military installations to operate without relying on vulnerable fuel supply chains. On June 4, 2026, the reactor achieved criticality at Idaho National Laboratory, making Antares the first privately developed advanced reactor to do so under the DOE’s Reactor Pilot Program. The company has already secured partnerships with the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, NASA, and military branches including the Air Force and Space Force. It targets electricity generation by 2027 and initial deployments by 2028, with a production goal of ten units per year.
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