Commercial framework identifies NANO Nuclear as Tillman’s preferred nuclear technology provider; Parties targeting 2 gigawatts (“GW”) or more of advanced nuclear capacity by the mid-2030s and 6 GW or more by 2040
Framework also includes fully milestone-vesting warrants for Tillman to purchase up to $100 million of NANO Nuclear Energy common stock, with a majority of the warrants vesting upon future binding reactor purchase commitments and a portion vesting upon achievement of key project-development milestones
New York, N.Y., Aug. 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NANO Nuclear Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: NNE) (“NANO Nuclear” or “the Company”), a leading advanced nuclear micro modular reactor and technology company focused on developing next-generation energy solutions, today announced the signing of a non-binding Strategic Commercial Framework with Tillman Global Holdings (“TGH” or “Tillman”) and its global data‑center platform, Tillman Digital Gateway (“TDG”), to advance the future deployment of NANO Nuclear’s KRONOS MMR™ Energy Systems across Tillman’s planned AI industrial zones in the United States.
The framework identifies NANO Nuclear as Tillman’s anticipated preferred nuclear technology provider and establishes a structure for the parties to collaborate on the evaluation and development of nuclear generation opportunities across Tillman’s growing U.S. data-center pipeline, with a parallel opportunity to expand to certain international markets.
In connection with the proposed collaboration, the parties are targeting 2 GW or more of advanced nuclear capacity by the mid-2030s and 6 GW or more by 2040, subject to general and site-specific definitive agreements, customer commitments, financing, regulatory approvals and other project requirements.
Tillman, a global firm that develops, owns, and scales large-scale digital and energy infrastructure, is advancing a multi-state pipeline of planned AI industrial zones in the U.S. designed to support gigawatt-scale power requirements from anticipated hyperscale and AI tenant customers. As part of its power-first development strategy, Tillman evaluates sites for their ability to accommodate multiple sources of generation and intends to reserve the space to integrate advanced nuclear power as a medium- to long-term source of reliable, baseload generation.
Figure 1 - NANO Nuclear and Tillman Digital Gateway Sign Strategic Commercial Framework to Advance Nuclear Power for Gigawatt-Scale U.S. AI Industrial Zones
Under the framework, NANO Nuclear and Tillman intend to collaborate across the nuclear project-development lifecycle, including site evaluation and diligence, licensing and development planning, customer engagement and project deployment. The contemplated structure would combine Tillman’s infrastructure development, project financing and power-development capabilities with NANO Nuclear’s advanced reactor technology, nuclear licensing capabilities and integrated approach to the nuclear fuel cycle.
Combining Complementary Infrastructure and Nuclear Capabilities
Tillman and its affiliated companies have significant experience developing, financing, owning and operating large-scale digital and energy infrastructure, including U.S. cell towers, fiber infrastructure, in-building connectivity systems and electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and have secured approximately $16 billion of capital since inception. Tillman is leveraging this experience for the development of power-first AI infrastructure designed to address the scale, reliability and speed-to-market requirements of next-generation computing customers.
NANO Nuclear is developing its KRONOS MMR Energy System, a 15 MWe High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor designed to support modular and phased deployment. The parties believe the technology's modular architecture is particularly well-suited for staged deployment at large-scale data-center campuses as nuclear generation becomes available over the medium and long term.
“Power availability is becoming one of the defining constraints on the continued expansion of AI infrastructure, and addressing this challenge will require both near-term execution and long-term planning,” said James Walker, Chief Executive Officer of NANO Nuclear Energy. “This framework represents a milestone in our future customer acquisition strategy, as Tillman brings deep infrastructure-development capabilities, access to capital and relationships across the technology ecosystem, together with a power-first approach to developing the next generation of AI campuses. By planning for nuclear at the earliest stages of site development, we believe we can establish a practical pathway to introduce reliable, baseload power as these campuses scale.”
“For NANO Nuclear, this framework represents an important potential commercialization pathway that connects our technology with an anticipated multi-gigawatt-site pipeline of power demand,” said Jay Yu, Founder and Chairman of NANO Nuclear Energy. “Importantly, the structure is intended to align both organizations around measurable project-development and commercial milestones as individual opportunities progress. We believe combining Tillman’s infrastructure-development capabilities with our nuclear technology, regulatory licensing pathway and deployment model can create a scalable foundation for future nuclear-powered AI infrastructure.”
“Meeting the extraordinary power requirements of next-generation AI infrastructure requires us to plan not only for what our campuses need today, but for the resilient, scalable power architecture they will require for decades to come,” said Sachit Ahuja, Co-President of Tillman Global Holdings. “We view NANO Nuclear as an emerging leader in advanced nuclear whose progress to date, commercially focused strategy and modular technology platform make it a compelling potential solution for our medium- and long-term power requirements. This framework combines Tillman’s infrastructure-development platform and relationships with large-scale technology customers and NANO Nuclear’s advanced nuclear capabilities, creating a pathway to benefit from the integration of nuclear generation into future Tillman campuses as our portfolio expands.”
Potential Multi-Gigawatt Deployment Pathway
As part of the proposed collaboration, the parties are targeting 2 GW or more of advanced nuclear capacity by the mid-2030s, with a longer-term objective of 6 GW or more by 2040 across Tillman projects. The parties are also evaluating opportunities to extend their collaboration to select international markets where Tillman or its affiliates are developing or evaluating large-scale digital infrastructure.
Key Elements of the Proposed Framework
Preferred nuclear technology relationship: The framework identifies NANO Nuclear as Tillman’s proposed preferred nuclear technology provider for potential advanced nuclear energy deployments across Tillman’s planned U.S. AI industrial zones.
Joint project development: Tillman and NANO Nuclear intend to evaluate candidate sites for future nuclear energy deployment and collaborate on site diligence, development and licensing planning, customer engagement and project structuring as individual opportunities advance.
IPP-style deployment model: For qualifying projects, the parties contemplate an independent-power-producer-style structure under which Tillman or its affiliates would finance, develop and own project power infrastructure and NANO Nuclear would develop, support operations, and supply the reactors and fuel, with specific commercial arrangements to be negotiated on a project-by-project basis.
Milestone-Based Warrant Arrangement and $5 Million Initial Equity Grant: The framework contemplates the proposed issuance to Tillman of fully milestone-vesting warrants to purchase up to $100 million of NANO Nuclear common stock. A majority of the warrants would vest only upon future binding reactor purchase commitments. The remaining portion of the warrants would vest only upon achievement of specified project-development milestones.
The framework also contemplates an initial restricted common stock grant to Tillman with a notional value of $5 million, a portion of which would vest upon execution of definitive equity grant agreements, with the substantial majority vesting only upon achievement of specified project-development milestones.
Project-level equity participation: The framework also contemplates potential rights for NANO Nuclear to participate alongside Tillman in a portion of the equity of certain project-level entities associated with future nuclear generation and corresponding data-center development once qualifying nuclear projects reach specified development milestones. Any such participation is subject to separately negotiated project-specific terms and definitive agreements.
All of the foregoing terms remain subject to evolution based on the preparation and execution of definitive documentation.
NANO Nuclear is being advised on the transaction by EAS Advisors LLC, acting through Odeon Capital Group LLC.