In the annals of trade show events taking place in Washington, DC, most exhibitors show up with elaborate Powerpoint slide decks and the occasional video. Taking a page out of the promotional legacy of P.T. Barum, who paraded a line of elephants down city streets to promote his circus, Last Energy brought a full-size mockup of its 20 MW PWR, complete with a huge crane to lift it into place outside the convention center.
From April 15 to 18, the Washington Convention Center hosted Data Center World, one of the premier data center industry conferences. This year’s conference is paying particular attention to the energy demands posed by data centers, as well as nuclear power’s role as a solution. Last Energy is participating in the conference as a speaker but organized its showcase on the street outside the conference center independently.
On the afternoon of April 16, the module (referred to as the “nuclear island”) was hung vertically from a crane outside the Washington Convention Center, across from the Apple Carnegie Library. (Image right: Last Energy)
Last Energy’s prototype, as displayed outside the data center conference, is non-functional, weighs 22 tons, and stands 12’x’12’x’48’. The prototype represents part of the underground portion of Last Energy’s broader power plant (referred to as the “PWR-20”) where key nuclear components are located, such as the reactor, pressurizer, steam generator, and cooling pumps.
The nuclear island is one of a few dozen rectangular modules that snap together to form the PWR-20, which can be manufactured, transported, and assembled within 24 months. The PWR-20 is intentionally sized to serve — and be co-located by — industrial entities, including data center campuses, auto manufacturing plants, and pulp and paper factories.
The sign on the side of the nonpower mockup startled some local residents who fixated on the words “nuclear” and called in a DC television news crew to find out why someone had deposited a nuclear reactor in their neighborhood. Once on the scene the TV news crew managed to get past the local excitement using their on scene report to delve into the prospects for microreactors. (video)
Profile of the Showcase for the 20 MW PWR
The purpose of the showcase — which was previewed in a BBC feature on the future of nuclear power — was to demonstrate a micro-scale, completely modular, and affordable model for nuclear development. The conference event meant to raise awareness about the unique promise of micro-nuclear power to meet the complex energy needs of data centers. (Image: Last Energy)
Due to the rapid growth of artificial intelligence, which is pushing data centers to make new investments in facilities to support customers, the industry is focused on key challenges including energy supply , reliability, decarbonization, and price certainty.
Last Energy is promoting is 20 MW PWR (in an October 2023 white paper and elsewhere), as a micro-scale nuclear development that offers a fast, affordable, and relatively low cost resource-intensive path to 24/7 clean baseload power. The firm says it is targeting being able to deliver one to a customer in 24 months. A key element of the offering of the micro-scale nuclear development is that it would be positioned to deliver power on-site via private wire, allowing data center customers to circumvent the traditional restraints and price volatility of the grid.
Q & A with Last Energy
Q: Does LE have a target date for submitting a license application to the NRC or any other nation state nuclear safety agency?
A: Our current focus is delivering plants in Europe in the 2020s, particularly as governments and businesses there coalesce around nuclear as the hands-down best solution to ensure their energy security, reliability, and affordability. To that end, we are currently working with the NRC on Part 110 export licensing for certain components of our plant.
With respect to our activities with European regulators, the early parts of the licensing process are largely confidential. However, we’re engaged in discussions with regulators in each of our markets, are advancing in the process, and have, in some cases, submitted materials.
Q: Does LE have any committed customers or MOUs with prospective customers in the US, UK, or elsewhere, e.g., power purchase agreements in principle, etc?
A: Last Energy has commercial agreements for over 50 units across our markets in Europe (primarily the UK and Poland), worth approximately $32B USD and amounting to over 1GW of output. Due to NDAs, we generally can’t disclose specific offtakers, but two entities we’ve signed agreements with are Katowice Special Economic Zone (KSSE) and Legnica Special Economic Zone (LSSE), industrial zones in Poland.
Last Energy told World Nuclear News in March 2023 the agreements represent “the largest pipeline of new nuclear power plants under development in the world”, with 10 plants planned for the Katowicka Special Economic Zone (KSSE) in Poland and a further 24 plants in the UK. In total, the deals represent power purchase agreements for more than $18.9 billion in electricity sales.
Q: What is the status of LE as an organization, e.g., privately held for profit business, nonprofit, or other? If commercial can you name any of your major investors?
A: Last Energy is a for-profit business. In 2019, we secured $3M in seed funding, led by First Round Capital (additional participation from Floodgate Fund). In 2021, we secured a $21M Series A round, led by GigaFund (additional participation from Quiet Capital, Armada Investments, and David Marquardt).
Q: Is the relative low power rating for the current design up to the task of providing power to the growing energy needs of data centers? For instance, Oklo just just inked a $25 million deal with a data center firm offering an updated power rating for its microreactor from 15MW to 50 MW?
A: Our 20 MW output, along with our emphasis on complete plant modularity, enables us to strategically scale based on the needs of the data center. A 20 MW output allows us to stagger deployments in 60 to 100 MW increments, which fits well with what many data center operators need.
Q: What other types of customers does LE plan to serve in addition to data centers?
A: Data centers are certainly one of our main customer segments, but we’ve also found considerable interest from auto manufacturers, metal producers, pulp and paper factories, and industrial zones.
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