NANO receives support from key stakeholders for prototype project, including announcement by potential future customer of plan to pursue a feasibility study for the deployment of 15 KRONOS MMR microreactors
New York, N.Y., Oct. 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — NANO Nuclear Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: NNE) (“NANO Nuclear” or “the Company”), a leading advanced nuclear energy and technology company focused on developing clean energy solutions, today celebrated its October 24 event at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U. of I.) through The Grainger College of Engineering to commemorate the start of real world site-characterization drilling for its KRONOS MMR™ Energy System prototype project in partnership with U. of I.
Notably, the event featured an announcement by potential customer BaRupOn LLC of the launch of a feasibility study to explore a future deployment of up to 15 KRONOS MMR™ reactors at its 700-acre advanced manufacturing and AI-data-center project in development near Houston, Texas.
The event also featured remarks from NANO Nuclear’s senior management and two executive advisory board members (including retired General Wesley K. Clark), senior U. of I. leadership, and representatives from engineering, construction, and commercial stakeholders, underscoring the strong institutional and commercial support behind the advancement of NANO Nuclear’s KRONOS MMR™ micro nuclear reactor development.
A recording of the event is available on Nano Nuclear Energy’s website at Events – NANO Nuclear Energy.
Figure 1 – NANO Nuclear Energy Celebrates KRONOS MMR™ Micro Modular Reactor Event at The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The event also featured remarks from NANO Nuclear’s executive management, senior U of I leadership, representatives from engineering, construction and commercial stakeholders and former U.S. Military Leaders. Credit to Heather Coit/Illinois Grainger Engineering.
NANO Nuclear Energy Management Highlights Differentiated Strategy, Widespread Support for Project, and KRONOS MMR™ Value Proposition
NANO Nuclear Founder, Chairman and President Jay Yu noted the accelerated the trajectory for the KRONOS MMR™ prototype at U of I due to its high technological readiness level as a well-known high-temperature gas-cooled reactor design. He also noted the estimated $120 million dollars and nearly a decade of R&D invested by the prior developer of the KRONOS MMR™ into its design, and its advancement in the U.S. and Canadian licensing processes. Mr. Yu also highlighted NANO Nuclear’s capital markets successes to date, having raised over $600 million since May 2024 at increasing valuations, demonstrating strong backing from institutional shareholders.
NANO Nuclear Chief Executive Officer James Walker discussed the Company’s differentiated approach, including the modular design of its reactors and its broader goal of vertical integration across the nuclear fuel supply chain. Mr. Walker described how smaller, factory-manufactured components can be transported and assembled for deployment across diverse markets—ranging from remote operations and industrial sites to data centers and military bases—while avoiding the long construction timelines and challenges of conventional nuclear reactors. Mr. Walker also acknowledged strong backing from the U of I, the State of Illinois, federal policymakers, local community politicians and key strategic commercial collaborators, all of which are expected to enable the advancement of the KRONOS MMR™ prototype project and NANO Nuclear’s future growth prospects.
NANO Nuclear Chief Technology Officer and Head of Reactor Development Dr. Florent Heidet provided a technical overview of the KRONOS MMR’s design and various reactor safety features. He explained that the high-temperature, gas-cooled KRONOS MMR™ reactor using simple and well-known materials and fuel, including helium coolant and TRISO fuel, and that the reactor design has been engineered for passive safety and zero-mile emergency-planning zones, contributing to the reactor’s ability to provide reliable, baseload, off-grid power. Dr. Heidet emphasized the system can be co-located safely on the U of I campus, as well as the reactor’s modular scalability from single-unit applications to gigawatt-scale clusters serving data centers and industrial campuses, with the modular scalability enabling further developments over time that could result in economies of scale. He further noted that the U of I prototype would be built to the same engineering standards as future commercial reactors, providing a platform for future deployment.
Figure 2 – NANO Nuclear Energy Founder and Chairman, Jay Yu along with Nuclear Physicist CEO James Walker on the University of Illinois site for the KRONOS MMR™ Event at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to commemorate the start of real world site-characterization drilling for its KRONOS MMR™ Micro Modular Reactor Energy System prototype project in partnership with U of I.
University of Illinois Leaders Affirm Commitment and Confidence in the KRONOS MMR
Susan Martinis, U of I Vice Chancellor for Research & Innovation, and Dr. Rashid Bashir, Dean of The Grainger College of Engineering, reiterated U. of I.’s strong support and described the project as fully aligned with U of I’s land-grant mission and the State of Illinois’ leadership in nuclear innovation. Nuclear, Plasma & Radiological Engineering Professor Caleb Brooks, Director of the Illinois Microreactor Demonstration Project, emphasized that U. of I.’s KRONOS MMR project will demonstrate the next generation of safe, small, and deployable nuclear systems, enabling education, workforce development, and real-world validation of advanced microreactor technologies.
Figure 3 – Q&A Panel from left to right: NANO Nuclear Chief Technology Officer and Head of Reactor Development Dr. Florent Heidet, NANO Nuclear Founder, Chairman and President Jay Yu, Dr. Rashid Bashir, Dean of the U of I Grainger College of Engineering, NANO Nuclear Chief Executive Officer James Walker and Professor Caleb Brooks, Director of the Illinois Microreactor Demonstration Project. Credit to Heather Coit/Illinois Grainger Engineering.
Experienced Engineering, Procurement and Construction Supporters Key to Successful Deployment
Hatch Ltd. Director of Nuclear Projects Paolo Mesiti cited Hatch’s decades-long experience in first-of-a-kind nuclear projects and acknowledged the KRONOS MMR’s progress in technology readiness and execution planning, highlighting the importance of the U. of I. project as a critical demonstration for the North American microreactor industry. Hatch is in discussions with NANO Nuclear to provide services for the KRONOS MMR™ prototype project.
PCL Construction Director of Nuclear Operations Peter Tawfik described PCL’s readiness to deliver modular fabrication and on-site construction for KRONOS MMR™ deployments across North America, highlighting the design’s superior modularity relative to conventional nuclear projects, which could enable faster deployment and cost efficiencies. PCL is also in discussions with NANO Nuclear to provide services for the KRONOS MMR™ prototype project.
Growing Demand from Data-Center and Industrial Sectors
Matthew O’Hare, Managing Director of Power Construction’s Data Structures Group and Vice President of AECOM Chicago, discussed the rapidly growing energy requirements of AI-driven data-centers, noting that Deloitte projects U.S. data-center power demand to grow from 41 GW in 2025 to 176 GW by 2035. He emphasized that microreactors such as the KRONOS MMR™ can provide reliable, behind-the-meter baseload power, eliminate multi-year interconnection delays, reduce costly transmission build-outs, and deliver unmatched reliability for 99.999% uptime operations.
BaRupOn LLC’s Chief Strategy Officer, Derek Matthews, described his 700-acre advanced manufacturing and AI-data-center campus near Houston, Texas, which will require over 1 gigawatt of power. Mr. Matthews also announced that BaRupOn is pursuing a feasibility study to evaluate the potential deployment of approximately 15 KRONOS MMR™ units to power BaRupOn’s high energy demanding technology campus in development—demonstrating commercial-scale interest in clean, on-site and off-grid nuclear generation.
National-Security and Military Applications
NANO Nuclear Energy’s Executive Advisory Board Members Vice Admiral Charles Leidig Jr. (US Navy Ret.) and Retired 4-Star U.S. Army General who served as the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) for NATO Forces General Wesley K. Clark concluded the program by underscoring the importance of resilient, off-grid nuclear power for U.S. military installations. Both leaders cited the KRONOS MMR’s inherent safety and ability to provide reliable, off-grid baseload power as critical attributes for enabling energy independence and cyber-resilient operations at domestic bases and military deployments.
Figure 4 – Site characterization and geotechnical activities performed by global infrastructure leader AECOM. This work will set the stage for the eventual construction, installation and operation of the KRONOS MMR™ at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.