Bluecore Energy has secured $50 million in seed funding to build floating nuclear power plants designed to supply ports and other sites facing surging electricity demands, the California-based startup announced. The Silverton Partners-led round, which includes $10 million in earlier pre-seed capital, brought in multiple new investors. The company intends to deploy the funds for engineering and testing its compact nuclear system while pursuing regulatory clearances and maritime certification.
Bluecore's first design aims to produce roughly 10 megawatts of electrical output on a continuous basis using light-water reactor technology. The maritime platform would run for years between servicing and need fresh fuel only once every few years, according to the company. Bluecore has already obtained its first barge and is constructing a non-fueled, electrically heated reactor module prototype at its Port of Long Beach headquarters to evaluate monitoring, sensor, and control systems. The startup is focusing on ports, AI data centers, and coastal infrastructure, with reactors potentially stationed offshore and linked to customers through subsea cables. Remote islands and coastal communities in regions like Alaska that lack viable ties to broader electricity grids also represent potential markets.
"Six months ago, we were building the foundation. Today, we have the capital, the team, the hardware, and some of the most important institutions in nuclear and maritime working alongside us," said Bluecore founder and CEO Kofi Asante. The company claims its method could deliver dependable, zero-emission electricity to energy-intensive sites and unlock new markets for nuclear generation. Bluecore has started talks with the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Coast Guard, which recently signed a memorandum of understanding to coordinate oversight of civilian floating nuclear power plant design, construction, and operation. The NRC states it's prepared to license maritime reactors under current federal regulations while developing an additional framework for microreactors and similarly low-risk designs.
The fundraise follows the launch of the International Atomic Energy Agency's Atomic Technologies Licensed for Applications at Sea initiative in Washington last month, which Secretary of Energy Chris Wright connected to the Department of Energy's push to rapidly expand atomic energy generating capacity to meet AI datacenter and industrial requirements. Bluecore's approach taps into decades of US maritime nuclear experience—all active American aircraft carriers run on nuclear power, a technology that first went to sea aboard the submarine USS Nautilus in 1955. Russia currently operates the world's only floating nuclear power plant, the barge-like Akademik Lomonosov, which is considerably larger than Bluecore's proposed design and can generate up to 70 megawatts of electricity.
Bluecore remains years away from commercial rollout, having yet to construct a fueled reactor or file for the approvals required to operate one. Its Long Beach plan must also work through California's restrictions on new nuclear power plants. The venture's success will hinge on whether regulators can move quickly enough to match the timeline investors and customers expect, while coastal states grapple with balancing climate goals against long-standing nuclear skepticism.