# What Are the Biggest Advanced Nuclear Deals Announced in July 2026?

Eight separate commercial agreements and financing events announced in a single ANS industry roundup — published July 9, 2026 — mark one of the densest single-week deal flows the advanced nuclear sector has recorded. Hadron Energy closed a SPAC transaction netting approximately $31 million. [GE Vernova](https://smrintel.com/companies/ge-vernova) and Blue Energy announced a gas-plus-nuclear plant concept targeting a Texas site. [TerraPower](https://smrintel.com/companies/terrapower) locked in Korean industrial partners for its Natrium sodium fast reactor fleet. [Urenco](https://smrintel.com/companies/urenco) signed a long-term [High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium](https://smrintel.com/glossary/haleu) supply agreement with microreactor developer Antares. Deep Fission launched a public equity offering targeting Nasdaq under the ticker "FISN."

Taken together, the deals span fuel supply, EPC partnerships, data center co-location, fast reactor commercialization, used-fuel recycling, and public capital markets — a cross-section that illustrates both the breadth of the advanced nuclear push and the continued dominance of the AI data center demand signal as the commercial rationale underwriting much of it.

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## Hadron Energy Closes $31 Million SPAC Deal, Secures Uranium Conversion Partner

Hadron Energy completed its business combination with GigCapital7 Corp, receiving approximately $31 million in total cash value from the GigCapital7 trust account and other financing sources. The transaction gives Hadron public market access to support development of its Halo microreactor — described as a mobile micro modular reactor (MMR) — through design, licensing, and customer deployment phases.

Simultaneously, Hadron signed a uranium conversion services agreement with ConverDyn, the Solstice Advanced Materials–General Atomics joint venture that operates a uranium hexafluoride (UF₆) conversion facility in Metropolis, Illinois. Securing conversion services this early in the development cycle is notable: most microreactor developers treat fuel supply chain as a later-stage problem, and locking in UF₆ conversion capacity signals Hadron is planning for a credible regulatory and commercialization timeline rather than a pure R&D posture.

**Skeptical read:** $31 million is thin capital for a full reactor development and NRC licensing campaign. It covers near-term engineering and regulatory work but a [First of a Kind (FOAK)](https://smrintel.com/glossary/foak) microreactor deployment will require substantially more. The SPAC structure also carries the valuation and dilution baggage well-documented across the tech sector. Hadron will need to demonstrate design maturity quickly to attract follow-on institutional capital before this runway narrows.

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## GE Vernova and Blue Energy Target Gas-Plus-Nuclear in Texas

[GE Vernova](https://smrintel.com/companies/ge-vernova) and Blue Energy have formed a strategic collaboration to develop what they describe as "the world's first gas-plus-nuclear power plant," combining GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy BWRX-300 small modular reactors with GE Vernova gas turbines. The first plant is to be located at a Blue Energy site in Texas, targeting power supply for a nearby data center campus.

A final investment decision is expected in 2027. The companies have already signed a slot reservation agreement for delivery of two GE Vernova 7HA.02 gas turbines to the Texas site in 2029, which represents a hard commercial commitment ahead of the FID.

The hybrid configuration is worth examining on its own terms. The BWRX-300 is a 300 MWe boiling water reactor design derived from GE Hitachi's ESBWR; pairing it with gas turbines addresses the capacity factor and dispatchability question that haunts pure nuclear-for-data-center proposals. Gas handles fast ramp while nuclear provides low-marginal-cost baseload — a configuration that improves overall plant economics and keeps the data center online during reactor refueling outages. Whether regulators and financiers will treat the hybrid as a nuclear plant (with nuclear licensing timelines) or a gas plant (with faster permitting) will be a key determinant of project schedule.

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## TerraPower Signs Korean Manufacturing and Construction Partners for Natrium Fleet

[TerraPower](https://smrintel.com/companies/terrapower) announced two agreements with HD Hyundai and Hyundai Engineering and Construction (HDEC) covering the full commercialization stack for its Natrium sodium fast reactor.

A supply framework agreement designates HD Hyundai Heavy Industries — the shipbuilding subsidiary — as a preferred manufacturer for components of the Natrium Reactor Enclosure System. A separate three-party strategic agreement brings in HDEC for project delivery and execution across design, manufacturing, supply chain, construction, and deployment of multiple reactors.

The Korean industrial partnership reflects a deliberate strategy: TerraPower gains access to heavy manufacturing capacity and large-scale project execution experience that U.S. industrial suppliers struggle to match at the required scale and cost. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries has the fabrication yards and quality management systems built for large, precision steel structures — directly transferable to reactor vessel manufacturing. HDEC brings EPC execution experience on complex industrial projects across multiple continents.

This also carries geopolitical and export implications. A U.S. advanced reactor design built on Korean manufacturing supply chains creates an interesting template for allied-nation deployment, and HDEC's international project portfolio puts Natrium into markets beyond North America.

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## Terrestrial Energy Partners With Riot Platforms on IMSR Data Center Co-Location

[Terrestrial Energy](https://smrintel.com/companies/terrestrial-energy), developer of the Integral Molten Salt Reactor (IMSR), announced a collaboration with Riot Platforms — a data center and bitcoin mining operator — to co-locate advanced nuclear plants with hyperscale data centers. The companies are evaluating project opportunities at multiple sites, including existing Riot facilities in Texas and Kentucky.

The Riot partnership is strategically logical: Riot operates large, power-hungry facilities with existing grid connections and a commercial model that is explicitly electricity-cost-driven. A co-located IMSR would supply [baseload power](https://smrintel.com/glossary/baseload) at potentially predictable long-term pricing, insulating Riot from grid volatility. IMSR's high-temperature output also opens the door to waste heat utilization in server cooling applications.

**What's missing from this announcement:** no MWe ratings for specific site configurations, no timeline for project development decisions, and no indication of where IMSR's NRC pre-application engagement stands. Molten salt reactors face longer regulatory paths than light-water SMRs under current NRC frameworks. The collaboration announcement is real, but commercial power delivery remains years away.

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## Blykalla and ABB Formalize Lead-Cooled Reactor Development Pact

Swedish developer [Blykalla](https://smrintel.com/companies/blykalla), which is developing the Sealer lead-cooled reactor, signed a joint development agreement with ABB Group following a two-year exploratory phase. ABB will serve as Blykalla's partner for automation, control systems, and control room equipment, and the two companies will jointly develop key elements of a prototype reactor and collaborate on demonstration and commercial units.

ABB's involvement brings industrial-grade instrumentation and control (I&C) credibility to a developer that has historically operated in the Swedish research ecosystem. For a [lead-cooled fast reactor](https://smrintel.com/glossary/lfr) targeting commercial deployment, control system design is a non-trivial engineering challenge — lead coolant's high density, opacity, and corrosivity create unique I&C integration problems. Having a major automation vendor committed at the prototype stage is a meaningful technical de-risking step.

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## FANCO-AtkinsRéalis Alliance Targets Indiana for Lead-Bismuth Fast Reactor

First American Nuclear (FANCO), developer of the EAGL-1 lead-bismuth cooled fast-spectrum reactor, entered a strategic alliance with AtkinsRéalis, designating the engineering firm as exclusive EPC management provider for all EAGL-1 reactor, fuel fabrication, and recycling facility projects in North America. FANCO has committed to deploying the first EAGL-1 in Indiana — where the company is headquartered — with a stated target of delivering power by 2033.

The 2033 power delivery date is aggressive for a [fast neutron spectrum](https://smrintel.com/glossary/fast-spectrum) reactor that has not yet entered NRC licensing. AtkinsRéalis brings credibility through its track record on nuclear construction projects globally, but the schedule depends heavily on regulatory pathway choices and design maturity — neither of which is addressed in detail in the announcement.

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## BLSK Energy Gains Exclusive Access to Argonne Pyroprocessing Technology

BLSK Energy signed a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) with Argonne National Laboratory, granting BLSK exclusive access to Argonne's pyroprocessing technology for producing fast reactor fuel from used light-water reactor fuel. The agreement also grants exclusive access to a reprocessing facility design developed by Argonne and Merrick Company. BLSK is targeting an operating pilot recycling facility by 2034.

This is quietly one of the more significant announcements in the July roundup. Pyroprocessing — electrochemical separation of actinides from used fuel — has been developed at Argonne for decades but has never been commercialized at scale in the U.S. A CRADA granting exclusive commercialization rights positions BLSK as the key private-sector pathway for closing the domestic fast reactor fuel cycle. If the fast reactor pipeline materializes (TerraPower, FANCO, and others), the fuel recycling infrastructure becomes critical infrastructure. The 2034 pilot target is realistic given the technology readiness level.

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## Urenco Signs HALEU Supply Agreement With Antares; Deep Fission Eyes Nasdaq

[Urenco](https://smrintel.com/companies/urenco) signed a long-term enrichment services agreement with microreactor developer Antares, under which Urenco will supply [High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium](https://smrintel.com/glossary/haleu) produced at its U.K. HALEU enrichment facility for Antares's microreactors targeting North American and allied-nation deployments.

The U.K. production origin is notable: it signals that domestic U.S. HALEU production capacity — still ramping — may be insufficient to meet near-term demand from microreactor developers, pushing some procurement offshore to allied enrichers. This has supply chain security implications that DOE and the NRC will need to track carefully as the microreactor pipeline matures.

Deep Fission, which is developing pressurized water reactors designed to be installed one mile underground, launched an underwritten public offering of six million shares in mid-May, with an IPO price range of $24 to $26 per share and an option for underwriters to purchase up to 900,000 additional shares. The company applied for Nasdaq listing under ticker "FISN" and stated net proceeds would fund engineering, R&D, licensing, and initial construction work.

Deep Fission's underground siting concept is primarily a safety and security argument — placing the reactor a mile below grade eliminates most surface-level accident consequence scenarios and provides inherent physical security. Whether the NRC will require new regulatory frameworks for underground siting, and what the underground construction cost premium looks like, remain open questions that will significantly affect LCOE projections.

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## Industry Trajectory: What This Week's Deal Flow Signals

The density of announcements in a single week reflects several converging pressures: data center operators are making multi-year capacity commitments that require locked-in power sources, industrial manufacturers are positioning now for what they anticipate will be a large FOAK order book, and developers are racing to secure fuel supply chain positions before HALEU enrichment capacity becomes a constraint.

The persistent theme across most announcements is the data center demand signal. GE Vernova's Texas plant, Terrestrial Energy's Riot partnership, and the broader commercial positioning of nearly every developer mentioned here cite AI infrastructure as the primary near-term commercial market. This demand concentration creates both opportunity and risk: if hyperscaler capital spending moderates, the commercial rationale for accelerated advanced reactor deployment weakens. Developers that can demonstrate industrial heat, grid services, or allied-nation export value alongside the data center pitch will carry more durable commercial cases.

The fuel supply chain deals — Hadron-ConverDyn and Urenco-Antares — also highlight a structural issue: the advanced reactor pipeline is beginning to outpace the domestic fuel infrastructure supporting it. Uranium conversion, enrichment, and fabrication capacity built around the legacy LWR fleet was not designed for the variety of fuel forms and enrichment levels advanced reactors require. Private capital is beginning to fill that gap, but regulatory and infrastructure lead times mean the fuel supply chain could become a binding constraint on deployment timelines well before reactor designs receive NRC approval.

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## Key Takeaways

- **Hadron Energy** closed a SPAC merger with GigCapital7, receiving approximately $31 million in total cash, and signed a uranium conversion agreement with ConverDyn for its Halo MMR program.
- **GE Vernova and Blue Energy** plan a gas-plus-BWRX-300 hybrid plant in Texas targeting data center load; slot reservations for two 7HA.02 gas turbines for 2029 delivery represent the first hard commercial commitment.
- **TerraPower** secured HD Hyundai Heavy Industries as a preferred Natrium component manufacturer and brought HDEC into a three-party construction and commercialization agreement.
- **Terrestrial Energy** and Riot Platforms are evaluating IMSR co-location at Texas and Kentucky data center sites.
- **Blykalla** formalized an ABB partnership for I&C and control systems on the Sealer lead-cooled reactor after a two-year exploratory phase.
- **FANCO** and AtkinsRéalis are pursuing EAGL-1 lead-bismuth reactor deployment in Indiana with a stated 2033 power delivery target — an aggressive schedule.
- **BLSK Energy** gained exclusive access to Argonne's pyroprocessing technology, positioning the company as a potential anchor of the U.S. fast reactor fuel recycling infrastructure.
- **Urenco** will supply HALEU from its U.K. facility to Antares for North American microreactor deployments; **Deep Fission** launched a Nasdaq IPO process under ticker "FISN."

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## Frequently Asked Questions

**What is the Hadron Energy Halo reactor and how much funding did it raise?**
The Halo is a microreactor (mobile micro modular reactor) being developed by Hadron Energy. The company completed a SPAC business combination with GigCapital7 Corp that delivered approximately $31 million in total cash from the trust account and other financing, along with public market access to support design, licensing, and deployment.

**Why is GE Vernova pairing the BWRX-300 with gas turbines instead of deploying nuclear alone?**
The hybrid gas-plus-nuclear configuration addresses the commercial and operational limitations of nuclear-only power for data centers. Gas turbines provide rapid ramp capability and cover load during reactor refueling outages, while the BWRX-300 supplies low-marginal-cost baseload. The combination can improve overall LCOE and ensures the data center maintains power continuity. GE Vernova and Blue Energy have signed slot reservations for two 7HA.02 gas turbines for 2029 delivery at the Texas site.

**What does TerraPower's deal with HD Hyundai mean for Natrium deployment timelines?**
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries becomes a preferred manufacturer for Natrium Reactor Enclosure System components, while HDEC takes on project delivery and execution responsibilities.