NANO Nuclear's $600M War Chest Targets AI's Energy Crisis

NEW YORK, NY – December 18, 2025 – NANO Nuclear Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: NNE) today detailed a transformative fiscal year, showcasing a formidable $580 million cash position and aggressive advancements in its microreactor technology. The company is positioning itself as a key energy provider for the power-hungry artificial intelligence sector, a move that underscores a broader shift towards novel energy solutions for the digital age.

The company’s annual report, released today, highlights its rapid progress on the patented KRONOS microreactor, key strategic partnerships with commercial and military clients, and an ambitious plan to vertically integrate its own nuclear fuel supply chain, a strategy that sets it apart from many competitors in the burgeoning advanced nuclear field.

“We are extremely proud of the hard work our team put in, the milestones we achieved, and the value we created for our investors and stakeholders in 2025,” said Jay Yu, Founder and Chairman of NANO Nuclear. “Our efforts have positioned NANO Nuclear at the center of a global nuclear renaissance.”

The New Nuclear Renaissance for the Digital Age

NANO Nuclear's strategy is squarely aimed at what Yu calls “durable long-term macro trends,” chief among them the explosive growth in energy demand from AI data centers. As AI models become more complex and widespread, their electricity consumption is projected to skyrocket, placing immense strain on traditional power grids that are often constrained by aging infrastructure and transmission bottlenecks.

“AI data centers are projected to be the primary driver of significantly higher electricity usage in the coming years,” Yu explained, noting that this fundamental shift demands scalable and constant sources of baseload power that can operate independently. “This is exactly where advanced reactors, and particularly our KRONOS MMR™, offer a compelling advantage.”

The company is already translating this vision into commercial opportunities. It has signed a feasibility study agreement with BaRupOn LLC to evaluate providing up to 1 gigawatt of power from its KRONOS microreactors to a 701-acre AI data center and manufacturing campus under development in Liberty, Texas. This move signals strong market interest in deploying microreactors directly at the point of consumption to ensure uninterrupted, carbon-free power.

Beyond the commercial sector, NANO Nuclear is also making inroads with the U.S. military. The company was awarded a $1.25 million Direct to Phase 2 contract from AFWERX, the innovation arm of the U.S. Air Force, to evaluate siting a KRONOS reactor at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, D.C. This project aims to enhance energy resilience for critical military installations, reducing dependence on vulnerable civilian grids.

Fast-Tracking a Proven Reactor Design

A cornerstone of NANO Nuclear's rapid progress is its lead reactor design, the KRONOS MMR™ Energy System. Acquired in January 2025, the reactor came with a high technology readiness level (TRL), having benefited from eight years and substantial prior investment. This has allowed the company to accelerate its development and licensing timeline.

The KRONOS is a stationary high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) designed to produce reliable, carbon-free power. It utilizes meltdown-resistant TRISO fuel, an inert helium coolant, and a graphite moderator—all components rooted in decades of proven reactor technology. This design foundation, according to the company, materially reduces both technical and licensing risks.

“Because our design is rooted in proven high-temperature gas-cooled reactor technology... we are benefitting from decades of operating data that we believe materially reduce technical and licensing risk,” said James Walker, Chief Executive Officer of NANO Nuclear. He emphasized that the reactor's passive safety features support co-location directly at customer sites, delivering the “reliable, always-available baseload power that emerging industries now require.”

In the U.S., the company is moving swiftly toward deployment. In collaboration with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where the first prototype is planned, NANO Nuclear has already completed critical site characterization and drilling work. This data is essential for its planned construction permit application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in the first quarter of 2026. The company also secured a key milestone with the NRC's approval of its Fuel Qualification Methodology Topical Report for the project. Progress is also underway in Canada, where the company aims to resume formal licensing activities with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC).

Forging a Vertically Integrated Nuclear Future

Perhaps NANO Nuclear’s boldest strategic move is its effort to build a vertically integrated business, controlling key aspects of the nuclear fuel supply chain. This initiative is designed to mitigate one of the biggest hurdles facing the advanced reactor industry: the availability of High-Assay, Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU) fuel.

HALEU, which is enriched to between 5% and 20% uranium-235, is required by most advanced reactor designs for its efficiency and ability to enable smaller, longer-lasting reactor cores. However, a robust commercial supply chain for HALEU is still in its infancy. NANO Nuclear is tackling this challenge head-on through its subsidiaries.

Its subsidiary, HALEU Energy Fuel Inc. (HEF), is focused on developing a domestic fuel fabrication pipeline. Meanwhile, Advanced Fuel Transportation Inc. (AFT) is building a specialized transportation business for HALEU, leveraging an exclusive license for a patented transport cask developed by three U.S. national labs. To further this goal, AFT has partnered with German specialist GNS to optimize the transportation system. The company has also made a strategic investment in LIS Technologies, which is developing a patented laser uranium enrichment technology, providing a potential long-term, low-cost enrichment solution.

This comprehensive approach aims to create a self-sufficient ecosystem, de-risking its own reactor deployments and potentially supplying fuel and services to the broader market, creating a significant competitive advantage.

Investor Confidence Fuels Meteoric Growth

The market has responded with significant enthusiasm to NANO Nuclear's ambitious strategy. Since its Initial Public Offering in May 2024, the company has successfully raised over $600 million. Following a recent private placement that netted approximately $379 million, its cash and cash equivalents stand at roughly $580 million. This substantial war chest provides a long financial runway to execute its complex development, licensing, and manufacturing plans.

This financial success is bolstered by growing support from what the company describes as “prominent institutional investors.” The company’s increased visibility is also reflected in its addition to several major indices, including the MSCI USA, S&P Global BMI, and the Global X Uranium ETF, making it more accessible to a wider range of investment portfolios.

This capital is being deployed to fuel tangible growth. NANO Nuclear acquired a 2.75-acre facility in Oak Brook, Illinois, to support engineering, R&D, and manufacturing. The move was supported by a $6.8 million incentive award from the State of Illinois, with the company committing to create at least 50 new full-time jobs. This rapid expansion, combined with a growing pipeline of commercial and government opportunities, demonstrates a clear momentum as the company works to solidify its role in the future of energy.