{"id":108735,"date":"2026-04-21T10:48:03","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T10:48:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/21\/blue-energy-raises-380m-to-build-grid-scale-nuclear-reactors-in-shipyards\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T10:48:03","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T10:48:03","slug":"blue-energy-raises-380m-to-build-grid-scale-nuclear-reactors-in-shipyards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/21\/blue-energy-raises-380m-to-build-grid-scale-nuclear-reactors-in-shipyards\/","title":{"rendered":"Blue Energy raises $380M to build grid-scale nuclear reactors in shipyards"},"content":{"rendered":"


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As the grid strains under the weight of electrification and AI data centers, tech companies<\/a> and utilities have been evaluating whether nuclear power can help with the burden. After the two most recent reactors built in the U.S. went over budget and past schedule, they aren\u2019t keen to repeat the past.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But Jake Jurewicz, co-founder and CEO startup Blue Energy, believes the answer to faster, cheaper buildouts can actually be found in the industry\u2019s early history. <\/p>\n

Blue Energy<\/a> wants to build nuclear reactors in shipyards because these locations can handle large amounts of steel and can be easily shipped to the project site once completed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe nuclear power technology that is most common \u2014 light water reactors \u2014 was originally invented for nuclear submarines,\u201d Jurewicz told TechCrunch. \u201cThere has actually always been a history of basically pre-fabbing it and looking at it in a shipyard context.\u201d<\/p>\n

To kickstart development on its first power plant \u2014 a 1.5 gigawatt project slated to begin construction later this year in Texas \u2014 Blue Energy has raised $380 million in financing split between equity and debt. The round was led by VXI Capital with participation from At One Ventures, Engine Ventures, and Tamarack Global.<\/p>\n

Unlike many nuclear startups, Blue Energy is not designing a new reactor, and instead rethinking how reactors and power plants are built. Jurewicz was inspired by the process Venture Global uses to build export terminals for liquified natural gas. One of his friends works at the company, and when Jurewicz heard more about its approach to building LNG projects, he said it \u201creally clicked.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey cut the schedule in half doing this, which was very disruptive,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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Techcrunch event<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSan Francisco, CA<\/span>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t|<\/span>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOctober 13-15, 2026<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

By moving the bulk of specialized construction to a shipyard, Blue Energy hopes the more controlled environment will eventually pave at the way to automation and greater cost savings. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt really minimizes the amount of construction on site, and it moves pretty much everything into a manufacturing environment. Then once you\u2019ve centralized all that work, you can start moving away from manual welding,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Once the reactor and other parts are completed in the shipyard, the company plans to move them to the installation site via barge. Though that limits the total number of sites Blue Energy can address, the company can still use rivers to reach deep into the U.S., Europe, Africa, and Asia. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe majority of our population and the majority of our load growth is happening around waterways,\u201d Jurewicz said.<\/p>\n

Blue Energy says its approach has been attracting interest from project financiers. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been engaged for a long time with a number of large infrastructure funds and banks, including three major project financing banks who have responded to our RFP, which is a strong indicator that they feel what we\u2019re proposing is as project financeable,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The key to such financing, Jurewicz added, is the company\u2019s plan to bring down construction costs, which have skyrocketed for nuclear power in recent decades. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the crux of the issue with nuclear. It\u2019s not the technology, it is how do we get the construction costs and the construction schedule down and to a place where it\u2019s predictable,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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