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Radiant is a clean energy startup building a nuclear microreactor. A climate-friendly alternative to diesel generators, Radiant's Kaleidos 1MW microreactor will be the world's first portable, zero-emissions power source that works anywhere.
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Highlights
Radiant Nuclear is revolutionizing clean energy with its portable micro nuclear reactor engineered for rapid deployment in remote and off-grid locations. This meltdown-proof, scalable, and cost-effective alternative to diesel generators addresses critical needs across defense, disaster recovery, and decentralized microgrids, including data centers, mining, and oil & gas. With strong tailwinds such as legislative support from the ADVANCE Act, breakthroughs in TRISO fuel technology, and growing public acceptance of nuclear energy.
Beyond has an exclusive opportunity to invest as part of an extension round to Radiant’s $100M Series C fundraise, led by DCVC a few months ago. Long term, Radiant targets producing 50 units annually, generating $1.5B+ in revenue.
Radiant Nuclear addresses critical gaps in global energy access by replacing diesel generators with a zero-emission, high-density nuclear solution. With $159M raised to date, strategic partnerships with national labs, and a seasoned team from SpaceX and nuclear engineering backgrounds, Radiant is positioned to lead the emerging microreactor market. The growing demand for resilient, decentralized power in military, remote commercial, and disaster relief applications — coupled with legislative support (ADVANCE Act), breakthroughs in TRISO fuel technology, and growing public acceptance of nuclear energy — creates a substantial addressable market. Radiant’s single-container portability, rapid deployment capabilities, and cost competitiveness provide a compelling case.
Why the future of AI is Nuclear
Deep Dive into Radiant's story
Diesel generators remain the default power source for 28,000 remote communities, military bases, and critical infrastructure globally due to their portability and rapid deployment. However, these systems suffer from three existential constraints: logistical inefficiency, environmental harm, and economic unsustainability.
Diesel fuel requires frequent transportation to remote sites, which accounts for 30–50% of total operational costs in regions like Alaska or conflict zones. Supply chain disruptions—common in disaster scenarios or geopolitically unstable areas — can cripple operations at hospitals, data centers, and military installations. Environmentally, diesel generators emit 2.6 kg of CO₂ per liter burned, contributing to the 1.2 billion tons of annual CO₂ from decentralized power systems. Economically, fuel cost volatility (e.g., diesel prices spiking 320% in conflict zones) erodes profitability for commercial operators and strains government budgets.
Existing alternatives like solar-wind hybrids fail to address these issues due to intermittency, land-use requirements (5–10 acres/MW), and limited energy density (0.1 MW/ton). Conventional nuclear plants, while clean, are impractical for remote use due to water dependencies, multi-year construction timelines, and gigawatt-scale overcapacity.
Radiant’s Kaleidos microreactor solves these challenges through a mass-producible, self-contained nuclear system delivering 1.2 MW of electricity and 1.9 MW of thermal output at 80C. The solution’s core innovations include:
Kaleidos uses TRISO (TRIstructural-ISOtropic) fuel — uranium encapsulated in ceramic-coated particles validated in 30+ reactors since the 1960s. These particles withstand temperatures up to 1,800°C, eliminating meltdown risks. Heat transfer via inert helium gas (non-radioactive during leaks) and passive air-cooling through natural convection further enhance safety.
Radiant Nuclear's utilization of helium gas as a coolant offers significant safety advantages. In the event of a leak, helium, being an inert and non-radioactive gas, will harmlessly dissipate into the atmosphere without posing any chemical or radiological hazards. This characteristic enhances the safety profile of their microreactor designs. Power Failsafe: In the event of loss of power the reactor simply shuts down and cools off.
The reactor ships as a single 40-ft container via truck, rail, or C-130 aircraft, requiring less than 24 hours for on-site commissioning. Unlike diesel systems needing weekly refueling, Kaleidos operates for 5+ years on one fuel load, reducing logistics costs by approximately 90%. Its 110x energy density over diesel (1,200 kWh/kg vs. 11 kWh/kg) enables operation in extreme environments from Arctic villages to forward military bases. Radiant's reactor is the only one with a single-container design, allowing for seamless transport and setup.
Kaleidos integrates with renewables by providing baseload power, smoothing intermittency gaps in solar/wind. The system’s 30–100% power ramping in < 60 seconds supports microgrid stability, a critical feature for hospitals and data centers.
Cost competitive with Diesel plants: levelized cost of operation over 20 years is cheaper than diesel plants and as production scales up and costs come down, microreactors could become significantly cheaper than diesel alternatives within a few years.
The global microreactor technology market is projected to experience significant growth in the coming years. Estimates suggest that the market could reach approximately USD 960.95 billion by 2034, expanding at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.5% from 2024 to 2034.
Another analysis indicates that the market may grow from USD 131.48 billion in 2023 to USD 759.94 billion by 2033, with a CAGR of 19.18% during this period.
Radiant’s addressable market spans multiple high-growth sectors:
Radiant has raised a total of $159M from top-tier investors, including Andreessen Horowitz (A16Z), Founders Fund, Draper Associates, Felicis, DCVC, and Union Square Ventures. Their most recent funding was a $100M Series C at a $435M post-money valuation (at a share price of $14.62) last year, led by DCVC. Prior to that, they raised a $45M Series B at a $160M post-money valuation in April 2023 (at a share price of $7.65), led by A16Z. Their journey began with a $12M Series A at a $56M post-money valuation in early 2022 (at a share price of $3.78) led by Union Square Ventures.
Radiant microreactors differentiate themselves from their closest competitors, BWXT in the MMR space and Oklo in the SMR space, through their unique portability and rapid deployment capabilities. Radiant's reactor is the only single-container design that allows for seamless transport and setup.
Radiant’s advantages:
The team’s agile approach — applying SpaceX’s rapid iteration (weekly design sprints) to nuclear — has accelerated development 3x vs. traditional timelines.
.
Memo
Radiant Nuclear is revolutionizing clean energy with its portable micro nuclear reactor engineered for rapid deployment in remote and off-grid locations. This meltdown-proof, scalable, and cost-effective alternative to diesel generators addresses critical needs across defense, disaster recovery, and decentralized microgrids, including data centers, mining, and oil & gas. With strong tailwinds such as legislative support from the ADVANCE Act, breakthroughs in TRISO fuel technology, and growing public acceptance of nuclear energy.
Beyond has an exclusive opportunity to invest as part of an extension round to Radiant’s $100M Series C fundraise, led by DCVC a few months ago. Long term, Radiant targets producing 50 units annually, generating $1.5B+ in revenue.
Radiant Nuclear addresses critical gaps in global energy access by replacing diesel generators with a zero-emission, high-density nuclear solution. With $159M raised to date, strategic partnerships with national labs, and a seasoned team from SpaceX and nuclear engineering backgrounds, Radiant is positioned to lead the emerging microreactor market. The growing demand for resilient, decentralized power in military, remote commercial, and disaster relief applications — coupled with legislative support (ADVANCE Act), breakthroughs in TRISO fuel technology, and growing public acceptance of nuclear energy — creates a substantial addressable market. Radiant’s single-container portability, rapid deployment capabilities, and cost competitiveness provide a compelling case.
Why the future of AI is Nuclear
Deep Dive into Radiant's story
Diesel generators remain the default power source for 28,000 remote communities, military bases, and critical infrastructure globally due to their portability and rapid deployment. However, these systems suffer from three existential constraints: logistical inefficiency, environmental harm, and economic unsustainability.
Diesel fuel requires frequent transportation to remote sites, which accounts for 30–50% of total operational costs in regions like Alaska or conflict zones. Supply chain disruptions—common in disaster scenarios or geopolitically unstable areas — can cripple operations at hospitals, data centers, and military installations. Environmentally, diesel generators emit 2.6 kg of CO₂ per liter burned, contributing to the 1.2 billion tons of annual CO₂ from decentralized power systems. Economically, fuel cost volatility (e.g., diesel prices spiking 320% in conflict zones) erodes profitability for commercial operators and strains government budgets.
Existing alternatives like solar-wind hybrids fail to address these issues due to intermittency, land-use requirements (5–10 acres/MW), and limited energy density (0.1 MW/ton). Conventional nuclear plants, while clean, are impractical for remote use due to water dependencies, multi-year construction timelines, and gigawatt-scale overcapacity.
Radiant’s Kaleidos microreactor solves these challenges through a mass-producible, self-contained nuclear system delivering 1.2 MW of electricity and 1.9 MW of thermal output at 80C. The solution’s core innovations include:
Kaleidos uses TRISO (TRIstructural-ISOtropic) fuel — uranium encapsulated in ceramic-coated particles validated in 30+ reactors since the 1960s. These particles withstand temperatures up to 1,800°C, eliminating meltdown risks. Heat transfer via inert helium gas (non-radioactive during leaks) and passive air-cooling through natural convection further enhance safety.
Radiant Nuclear's utilization of helium gas as a coolant offers significant safety advantages. In the event of a leak, helium, being an inert and non-radioactive gas, will harmlessly dissipate into the atmosphere without posing any chemical or radiological hazards. This characteristic enhances the safety profile of their microreactor designs. Power Failsafe: In the event of loss of power the reactor simply shuts down and cools off.
The reactor ships as a single 40-ft container via truck, rail, or C-130 aircraft, requiring less than 24 hours for on-site commissioning. Unlike diesel systems needing weekly refueling, Kaleidos operates for 5+ years on one fuel load, reducing logistics costs by approximately 90%. Its 110x energy density over diesel (1,200 kWh/kg vs. 11 kWh/kg) enables operation in extreme environments from Arctic villages to forward military bases. Radiant's reactor is the only one with a single-container design, allowing for seamless transport and setup.
Kaleidos integrates with renewables by providing baseload power, smoothing intermittency gaps in solar/wind. The system’s 30–100% power ramping in < 60 seconds supports microgrid stability, a critical feature for hospitals and data centers.
Cost competitive with Diesel plants: levelized cost of operation over 20 years is cheaper than diesel plants and as production scales up and costs come down, microreactors could become significantly cheaper than diesel alternatives within a few years.
The global microreactor technology market is projected to experience significant growth in the coming years. Estimates suggest that the market could reach approximately USD 960.95 billion by 2034, expanding at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.5% from 2024 to 2034.
Another analysis indicates that the market may grow from USD 131.48 billion in 2023 to USD 759.94 billion by 2033, with a CAGR of 19.18% during this period.
Radiant’s addressable market spans multiple high-growth sectors:
Radiant has raised a total of $159M from top-tier investors, including Andreessen Horowitz (A16Z), Founders Fund, Draper Associates, Felicis, DCVC, and Union Square Ventures. Their most recent funding was a $100M Series C at a $435M post-money valuation (at a share price of $14.62) last year, led by DCVC. Prior to that, they raised a $45M Series B at a $160M post-money valuation in April 2023 (at a share price of $7.65), led by A16Z. Their journey began with a $12M Series A at a $56M post-money valuation in early 2022 (at a share price of $3.78) led by Union Square Ventures.
Radiant microreactors differentiate themselves from their closest competitors, BWXT in the MMR space and Oklo in the SMR space, through their unique portability and rapid deployment capabilities. Radiant's reactor is the only single-container design that allows for seamless transport and setup.
Radiant’s advantages:
The team’s agile approach — applying SpaceX’s rapid iteration (weekly design sprints) to nuclear — has accelerated development 3x vs. traditional timelines.
.