Former SpaceX engineers aim to power AI with abandoned nuclear project

An abandoned nuclear reactor test facility in Lynchburg, Virginia, is being reconsidered as a potential solution to the world's growing energy needs, particularly for powering artificial intelligence data centers. The facility, part of a project that previously received a $400 million investment, is now under scrutiny by a startup founded by former SpaceX engineers.

The test installation, known as mPower, is an eight-story structure built to simulate the operations of a nuclear power plant. It is not a functional reactor but is powered by electricity, allowing engineers to safely test and monitor various components and technologies. Constructed starting in 2009, the facility has remained unused for nearly a decade on Liberty University's engineering campus.

Applied Atomics, a startup established last year by Ben Kellie and Paul Keutelian, both former high-ranking engineers at SpaceX, believes the mPower technology can serve as the foundation for a new generation of small nuclear reactors. They are collaborating with BWXT, the company that owns the mPower project and has a long history of building reactors for U.S. military vessels.

Kellie highlighted that a significant portion of the research and development work has already been completed, leveraging the initial $400 million investment and years of engineering expertise. The startup aims to use the developed technology to construct smaller, more easily deployable nuclear reactors compared to traditional large-scale plants. While small modular reactors have been proposed for decades as a flexible alternative, commercial operation in the U.S. has yet to materialize, with past projects facing challenges related to cost, engineering, regulatory hurdles, and community opposition.

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We are standing on the shoulders of giants here, aren't we?