Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs
TerraPower CEO Chris Levesque, right, spoke with Joe Fain, president and CEO of the Bellevue Chamber, at a luncheon event hosted by the chamber on Thursday. (GeekWire Photo / Lisa Stiffler)
TerraPower CEO Chris Levesque offered a sunny picture for the work underway at the Bill Gates-backed nuclear power company in a fireside chat with the Bellevue Chamber on Thursday.
The company is building its first small modular nuclear reactor near a retiring coal plant in Wyoming. It’s ahead of schedule on the permitting review process with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. And over recent months, the Bellevue, Wash.-based company has announced a slate of partnerships to bolster its supply chain, provide fuel for the reactor, and deploy additional reactors in the U.S. and abroad.
“2030 is the date for making electricity [in Wyoming], and we’re on schedule for that,” Levesque said on Thursday. And by that time, he added, “we plan to have something like 10 or 12 other plants under construction.”
If it hits that five-year goal, it’s expected to be the first company to deploy next-generation nuclear technology in America.
Levesque called out multiple tailwinds propelling TerraPower’s efforts.
The company has been working on the challenge of developing next-gen fission technology for nearly two decades. It has benefited from a strong public-private partnership, landing $2 billion from the U.S. Department of Energy during the Biden administration as well as private funding that includes $1 billion from Gates — the Microsoft co-founder’s largest investment in a private company. And the energy source has support from Republicans and Democrats alike, including President Trump.
RELATED: ‘Just watch us’: Gates-backed TerraPower is bullish on being the first next-gen nuclear plant in U.S.
When it comes to developing new nuclear power, “government programs will help and will be necessary,” Levesque said. “We’re competing on the world stage with Russia and China, who heavily subsidize [the sector].”
Then there’s the matter of demand. Forecasts of soaring energy needs driven by giant data centers, also called hyperscalers, have companies and utilities scrambling for new clean power options. Big tech companies including Amazon, Microsoft, Google and others are making and exploring deals for teaming up with existing nuclear plants and building new ones.
Splitting atoms for energy is attractive because it doesn’t produce carbon emissions and can operate 24/7, unlike wind and solar power that is available intermittently.
Last week, Amazon, Google and other corporations signed a pledge to work toward tripling global nuclear power output by 2050. Amazon last year launched partnerships to help fund the construction of four reactors in central Washington, while Microsoft has a deal to restart a nuclear reactor at Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island.
Levesque thinks TerraPower could have an advantage over some of its competitors, which have less capital backing their efforts and are relying heavily on hyperscalers’ investments to get their plants running.
“The hyperscalers didn’t get where they are by saving other people’s businesses,” he said. “The reputable nuclear companies are going to have to show that they have their own investors who are willing to bridge that equity gap.”
TerraPower in January announced a partnership with Sabey Data Centers, a company that develops, owns and operates data centers, to collaborate in nuclear reactor deployments at current and future data center sites. That includes locations in the Rocky Mountain region and Texas.
This month, TerraPower shared news of a deal with the engineering company KBR to team up in the commercialization and construction of reactors in North America, the United Kingdom, European Union and beyond.
The company is looking at a much bigger market than data centers alone. While the clean energy transition is slowing in the U.S. under the Trump administration, there is still a push to electrify transportation, manufacturing, heating and other power needs currently met by fossil fuels. And the cry for increased energy spans the globe, including low-income countries.
Nathan Myhrvold, vice chairman of the TerraPower board and a former Microsoft CTO, spoke to the challenge at a separate GeekWire event on Thursday.
“You have to think of a world in which the total energy demand in this next century grows by a factor of five to 10,” Myhrvold said. “The poor world wants to get rich, and the rich world wants to get do more things that require power, like AI.”
But there are massive hurdles to establishing a new nuclear sector in the U.S. after decades where few reactors were built.
There are giant financial risks, particularly for building the first few reactors. That includes concerns about the effect of tariffs on commodities such as steel. A TerraPower spokesperson said the company is “evaluating any potential impacts through our regular project management processes,” and asserts that its reactors uses less concrete and steel compared to other designs.
And perhaps most importantly are the difficulties created by a weak supply chain and a weak workforce, Levesque said. The field needs more skilled graduates with bachelor’s degrees and two-year degrees who are skilled in engineering and can help build and operate the facilities.
Myhrvold, who helped design TerraPower’s next-gen reactor, said he hopes lots of companies are successful in deploying the technology.
Levesque cheered his company’s progress. “TerraPower, this small, 700-person company, headquartered in Bellevue, Washington,” he said, “is leading the country’s next nuclear power plant construction project.”
