Trump Orders DOE to Fast-Track Small Modular Nuclear Reactors Development for Reduced Costs and Faster Generation.

US President Trump has issued executive orders to expedite the development of small modular nuclear reactors. The goal is to have the first reactors generating energy within a year. These reactors are intended to be lower-cost and less complex, with many existing patents providing a foundation for the plan. The Department of Energy will oversee the development process.

US President Trump has issued executive orders to expedite the development of small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs), aiming for the first reactors to begin generating energy within a year. These reactors are designed to be lower-cost and less complex, leveraging existing patents to fast-track development. The Department of Energy (DOE) will oversee this process.

The executive orders have approved ten companies with eleven reactor projects, but one notable company not included in this list is NANO Nuclear Energy (NASDAQ:NNE). NANO's CEO, Jay Yu, expressed a positive reaction to the orders. NANO is focusing on microreactors, producing less than 20 MW of power, unlike the SMRs that may produce up to 300 MW. NANO's reactor designs, ZEUS and ODIN, are intended to produce 1-1.5 MW, enough power for about 800-1,000 homes or a small data center or medium hospital. The company is also exploring mining as a key market due to the remote locations of mines and high energy needs.

NANO's reactor designs are highly transportable, with the ZEUS and ODIN reactors capable of being carried by a standard semi-truck and producing "constant power for at least 10 full power years." The company's LOKI project, a 10-ton reactor designed to output up to 5 MW, is also highly transportable. NANO's largest project, KRONOS, aims to create up to 45 MW of power in a stationary underground site.

NANO is a pre-revenue company with around fifty employees, indicating it is early in its development timeline. While it may be leading the race in microreactors, the technology has not yet proven commercially viable. The company has six utility patent applications pending before the USPTO and nine patent applications related to its acquired ALIP technology for small nuclear reactor cooling. Its medium reactor project, LOKI, was initially expected to begin testing in 2026 but has been pushed back to 2027.

NANO's primary projects are the ODIN and ZEUS microreactors. The company estimates that its microreactor demonstration work will be conducted between 2024 and 2026, its microreactor licensing application will be processed between 2026 and 2031, and its microreactors will be launched between 2030 and 2031. NANO is currently doing demonstration projects, assembling a 1:2 scale block that represents a fuel element of the ZEUS reactor core.

NANO's market capitalization is $1.3B, well below that of its larger peers, Oklo and NuScale. The company has $210M in cash, with a burn rate similar to its peers. The market cap-to-cash ratio of NANO is 6.8X, compared to Oklo's 15.5X. This suggests that NANO is essentially a younger version of its peers, with a discount for its youth.

The SMR industry is highly risky, with high short-interest levels. NANO's short-interest is 18%, between Oklo and NuScale. Detractors, such as the Environmental Working Group, argue that SMRs have a natural diseconomy of scale, but proponents counter that SMRs have superior scale due to less labor and utility maintenance needs.

Until commercial operations are demonstrated, the outlook on NANO remains neutral. The company needs to focus on commercially viable projects and reduce its scope to increase the likelihood of success.

References:
[1] https://seekingalpha.com/article/4816260-nano-nuclear-energy-concepts-plan-with-many-patents