Nuclear Turbines, a Manchester startup developing compact, cost-effective, advanced nuclear power systems, has raised a £15 million foundational round.
Founded by former BAE Systems principal engineer Jeremy Owston and internationally renowned nuclear engineer Professor Tim Abram, in partnership with Empirical Ventures’ venture studio and spun out of BAE Systems, Nuclear Turbines aims to solve nuclear’s critical cost and scale challenges by replacing steam turbine systems with highly efficient high-temperature turbine technology normally found in jet engines and gas-fired power plants.
By removing the need for steam infrastructure, Nuclear Turbines’ solution is so compact that it could be deployed ‘behind the meter’ on industrial sites, the firm says, powering critical infrastructure such as industrial facilities and data centres and manufacturing facilities with a cost-effective, resilient alternative to grid-connected electricity.
Conventional small modular reactors were the first step towards addressing this need – making nuclear smaller, faster to deploy, and more adaptable – and now Nuclear Turbines is taking this technology to the next level by solving fundamental cost and scale challenges.
The funding round was led by IQ Capital, joined by Rhapsody Venture Partners, Zero Carbon Capital and Empirical Ventures. It will be used to advance and validate the reactor design, build large-scale test rigs, and expand the team as the company prepares to manufacture its first fuel elements.
Nuclear Turbines has also appointed Lauren Dickerson (also pictured) as chief commercial and strategy officer. Dickerson joins from Centrica, where she spent over four years as strategy director, bringing experience in commercial strategy, partnerships and external relations to the company’s growth plans.
“The nuclear industry has always designed reactors first, then figured out what to do with the heat,” said Owston. “We flipped this script: we started with the cheapest way to generate power and designed a reactor to fit.
“If we’re serious about reindustrialising while meeting climate goals, we need energy that’s clean and cheap. We’ve created the only tech that solves both, from the UK.”
Jordan Billiald, principal at IQ Capital, said: “This is the first time I’ve seen an SMR design that genuinely solves the economic and sustainability equation, and it’s at a time when market dynamics, government ambition and regulatory reform are creating unprecedented opportunity.
“Nuclear Turbines is perfectly positioned to capture that opportunity and to make sure the UK is not left out of the global nuclear race. With its deep engineering and nuclear heritage, the UK has a real right to win in this space, and Nuclear Turbines is the kind of company the UK venture ecosystem needs to back.”
Jason Whaley, general partner at Rhapsody Venture Partners, said: “Energy is the number one competitive differentiator for any industrial nation. American industry talks a lot about reshoring and energy independence, but you need the genuinely cheap, reliable power that Nuclear Turbines is building to make those economics work.
“In doing so, they won’t just be exporting reactors, they’ll be exporting the fuel supply chain and setting the global standard.”
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Dr Ben Miles, co-founder and partner at Empirical Ventures, said: “This month the government heralded a ‘golden age of nuclear power in Britain’, while Andy Burnham, in a major speech a few weeks ago in Manchester, promised to back ‘our scientists, technologists and entrepreneurs… to show how Britain will be the Innovation Nation of the decade’.
“We believe Nuclear Turbines embodies that promise: the best of British nuclear talent spun out of a UK-listed global engineering powerhouse, with committed, expert deep tech investors. It’s why Empirical Studios and Empirical Ventures worked with Tim and Jeremy from day one to solve Britain’s energy crisis and power our manufacturing and AI industries into the next decade.”
David Ewing, head of technology commercialisation at BAE Systems, said: “The launch and funding of Nuclear Turbines demonstrates the power of Launchpad to turn bold ideas into high-growth businesses with the potential to address critical national challenges.
“Built on exceptional engineering expertise and innovative technology, Nuclear Turbines reflects our commitment to accelerating breakthrough innovation beyond defence and supporting UK growth, industrial resilience and energy security.”
Alex Gawley, founding partner at Zero Carbon, said: “Cheap, firm power generation is critical for the energy transition. We believe nuclear fission is a critical part of that, but current technologies fall short on cost and speed of deployment.
“Nuclear Turbines’ breakthrough modular approach solves both of these constraints and represents an amazing opportunity to provide clean, reliable power to industry, data centres and the grid.”