Agreements for potential deployment of NANO microreactors

Under the MoU with Ameresco, the two companies will explore the potential integration of NANO Nuclear's suite of advanced modular microreactors - including KRONOS MMR, ZEUS and LOKI MMR - with Ameresco's engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) capabilities. The memorandum outlines the proposed collaboration between the partners to evaluate potential pathways for the siting, development, construction, licensing, operation, and eventual decommissioning of NANO Nuclear's modular microreactors.

Following a comprehensive assessment of regulatory and financial considerations, stakeholder engagement, site suitability, integration requirements, and utility interconnections, Ameresco and NANO Nuclear expect to enter into specific agreements under which Ameresco would lead EPC activities for sites using NANO Nuclear's systems within the USA. As the initial assessment advances, the companies plan to coordinate on government funding and other available incentives.

"This MoU marks another milestone for NANO Nuclear as we continue to build customer demand for our approach to delivering reliable, modular nuclear microreactor energy systems in support of the United States' energy transition,” said Jay Yu, Founder and Chairman of NANO Nuclear. "Working alongside Ameresco, a leading US publicly traded energy infrastructure company, gives us the opportunity to test our advanced, patented microreactor technologies against real-world requirements at scale, across both federal and commercial levels. We see this as an important step in addressing the country's evolving energy needs with our safe, reliable and modular nuclear solutions."

"We're delighted to work with Ameresco to evaluate how our suite of modular microreactor technologies in development can fit into next-generation energy infrastructure solutions," said NANO Nuclear CEO James Walker. "Ameresco's extensive operational footprint, broad industry and governmental contacts and experience operating large, complex energy systems will provide us with valuable insights into how our systems can be best aligned to real operating conditions. This collaboration will help us to ensure that our microreactors will be suited to meet the growing power demands of AI, data centres, and other energy-intensive applications, and we look forward to continuing discussions around potential sites and future development opportunities."

"Our collaboration with NANO Nuclear underscores our commitment to advancing and diversifying our clean energy portfolio," said Nicole Bulgarino, President of Federal Solutions and Utility Infrastructure at Ameresco. "By evaluating the integration and deployment of their next-generation modular microreactors, we are strengthening our ability to deliver reliable, cost-effective, and sustainable energy solutions that meet the evolving needs of our federal customers, as well as the data centre and industrial markets."

As part of its broader efforts to help customers reduce their carbon footprints by a cumulative 500 million metric tonnes by 2050, Ameresco intends to evaluate the potential integration of NANO Nuclear's advanced modular microreactor technology with its portfolio of advanced systems. This portfolio, including existing facilities, microgrid solutions, and battery energy storage systems, enables the delivery of firm, dispatchable energy infrastructure solutions. These solutions are designed to serve a wide range of customers, including federal, state, and local governments, utilities, data centres, educational and healthcare institutions, housing authorities, and commercial and industrial users.

In June last year, Ameresco agreed to collaborate with Terrestrial Energy to advance the commercial deployment of its Integral Molten Salt Reactor plant in the USA. The partners said the collaboration covers site identification and IMSR plant project development, design, licensing, construction and operation.

Korean cooperation

DS Danseok, a South Korean resource recycling energy company, announced it signed an MoU with NANO Nuclear Energy (NNE) for the domestic introduction and strategic cooperation of the Micro Modular Reactor (MMR).

"This agreement was pursued to establish a mutually cooperative system between DS Danseok and NNE for the development and commercialisation of MMR technology, and to explore commercialisation opportunities in the domestic market based on this," DS Danseok said. "MMR is attracting attention as a future energy source due to its ease of installation, high stability, and efficient operation as a distributed power source compared with large nuclear reactors."

Through this agreement, DS Danseok and NANO Nuclear plan to establish a cooperative system across all aspects of commercialisation - including technology review; cooperation in regulatory response; supply chain linkage - focusing on discovering MMR-based business models applicable to Korean industrial sites. Furthermore, the two companies plan to "review the possibility of a phased introduction of MMR in line with changes in the domestic institutional environment".

"DS Danseok is a company with an understanding of the Korean industrial scene and energy business capabilities," said NANO Nuclear CEO James Walker. "We will review the domestic application of MMR technology together and implement an optimised business model to create a meaningful success story."

DS Danseok Chairman Han Seung-wook added: "This agreement with Nano Nuclear Energy, which has unrivalled expertise in next-generation nuclear reactor technology, will be a significant turning point in implementing carbon-neutral solutions. Following the partnership established with the Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Central Research Institute and the Korea Institute of Energy Engineering last year, we will gradually expand the MMR-based carbon-free energy system by combining global nuclear power plant technologies."