Standard nuclear power emerged from stealth on Wednesday, with $42 million in funding to produce advanced nuclear fuel.
It’s not a completely new company, except for standard nuclear power. Rather, it is based on assets purchased at auction for $28 million following the bankruptcy of Ultra Safe Nucal Corporation (USNC). Kurt Terrani, CEO of the new company, served as Vice President of USNC.
The funding round was led by critical points with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, Crucible Capital, Fundomo and Washington Harbor Partners.
Standard Nuclid says it has a non-binding fuel sales of $100 million in 2027, working with Nano Nucleer Energy, which acquired other USNC assets at bankruptcy auctions, and customers who acquired other USNC assets at another critical points portfolio company. In a statement to TechCrunch, Standard Nuclear said it had approved the purchase of bankruptcy and “accelerated the launch” of its timeline.
USNC was working on the commercialization of a type of nuclear fuel known as Triso, a uranium fuel pellet coated with layers of carbon-based and ceramic-based materials. Poppy seed-sized particles are thought to be more resistant to melting and can be loaded into larger spheres or cylinders.
Triso is an old idea – it has been around since the 1950s – fuel is not widely used today. That may change as several startups, including Google-backed Kairos and Amazon-backed X-Energy, are planning to use Triso in their reactors.
USNC was founded on relatively well-known technology, but the company’s path was tumultuous.
USNC was effectively funded by one investor, Richard Hollis Helms and his family. He has plowed USNC $100 million over the years with a $24.7 million loan. As an effective single investor startup, the company has a vast business model and has developed not only Triso nuclear fuel, but also two different reactor designs, nuclear space propulsion systems and nuclear heating sources for spacecraft.
It is not clear where Helms’ interest in the next generation of nuclear weapons came from. He began his career in the CIA as an Arabian in the Middle East. His wife was also a spy. “While lying to the kids and pretending to do everyday office work, Richard and Teresa together pursued their international secret careers,” his obituary said. He passed away in May 2024.
Helms retired from the CIA after 9/11 “(w) Hen didn’t call for the deep expertise of him and his colleagues,” his obituary said. He used his retirement to find two national security-related companies, Abraxis, which sold for $124 million in 2010, and Ntrepid, which are still held personally.
In 2022, USNC began looking for investors to participate in Series A, according to court filings. However, the company was slow to generate significant revenue, and when Helms died, the company’s debts were rising. A Reddit post suggests that the company was not paying at the time.
USNC declared bankruptcy in October 2024. At that point, the founder of the crucial point, Thomas Hendrix, took the lead and bid for USNC’s fuel-related assets for $28 million in the same month. Sales were completed in February. This includes real estate that serves as a standard nuclear operational hub today.