Manchester’s Nuclear Turbines raises €17.5 million to develop compact, cost-effective nuclear power systems

Nuclear Turbines, a Manchester-based startup developing compact, cost-effective, advanced nuclear power systems, has raised a €17.5 million (£15 million) foundational round led by IQ Capital, joined by Rhapsody Venture Partners, Zero Carbon Capital and Empirical Ventures.

The company plans to use this capital to advance and validate the reactor design, build large-scale test rigs, and expand the team as the company prepares to manufacture its first fuel elements.

Jeremy Owston, co-founder of Nuclear Turbines, said, “The nuclear industry has always designed reactors first, then figured out what to do with the heat. We flipped this script: we started with the cheapest way to generate power and designed a reactor to fit. If we’re serious about reindustrialising while meeting climate goals, we need energy that’s clean and cheap. We’ve created the only tech that solves both, from the UK.”

Nuclear Turbines was spun out of BAE Systems’ Launchpad initiative. It was founded in 2024 by former BAE Systems Principal Engineer Jeremy Owston and prominent nuclear engineer Professor Tim Abram, in partnership with Empirical Ventures’ venture studio. The company is developing compact nuclear systems designed to integrate with gas turbine technology.

Nuclear Turbines claims to be solving nuclear’s critical cost and scale challenges by replacing steam turbine systems with highly efficient high-temperature turbine technology normally found in jet engines and gas-fired power plants.

The company notes that its modular reactor architecture eliminates traditional steam infrastructure to deliver scalable, cost-effective clean power. The removal of steam infrastructure makes Nuclear Turbines’ solution so compact that it could be deployed ‘behind the meter’ on industrial sites. 

This helps the UK startup to power critical infrastructure such as industrial facilities, data centres and manufacturing facilities with a cost-effective, resilient alternative to grid-connected electricity.

Nuclear Turbines highlights that conventional small modular reactors were the first step towards making nuclear smaller, faster to deploy, and more adaptable. It now aims to take this technology to the next level by solving fundamental cost and scale challenges.

Alongside the funding, Nuclear Turbines has appointed Lauren Dickerson as Chief Commercial and Strategy Officer. Dickerson joins from Centrica, where she spent over four years as Strategy Director. 

Pointing out that UK electricity prices are among the highest in Europe, Nuclear Turbines said the UK needs huge amounts of low-carbon power to meet its clean energy targets. However, it also noted that conventional nuclear power plants cost tens of billions of dollars and take decades to build.

The startup says that the scale and cost-efficient nature of its technology will make advanced nuclear power accessible and attractive to private finance, accelerating its deployment in energy-intensive sectors that are currently vulnerable to reliance on fossil fuels.

Jordan Billiald, Principal at IQ Capital, said, “This is the first time I’ve seen an SMR design that genuinely solves the economic and sustainability equation, and it’s at a time when market dynamics, government ambition and regulatory reform are creating unprecedented opportunity. Nuclear Turbines is perfectly positioned to capture that opportunity and to make sure the UK is not left out of the global nuclear race. With its deep engineering and nuclear heritage, the UK has a real right to win in this space, and Nuclear Turbines is the kind of company the UK venture ecosystem needs to back.”

Nuclear Turbines plans to use this funding to advance and validate the reactor design, build large-scale test rigs, and expand the team as the company prepares to manufacture its first fuel elements.