Billionaire Bill Gates’ Terrapower Has Entered the Nuclear Energy Chat With New Wyoming Power Plant
Key takeaways
- Bill Gates’ nuclear energy company Terrapower has confirmed it’s building a $4 billion nuclear energy plant in Wyoming
- Natrium plant has drawn investment from US government, SK Group and ArcelorMittal
- Terrapower previously raised $750 million in funding last year
Bill Gates’ nuclear energy company, Terrapower, has announced its Natrium power plant site is going ahead in Wyoming. Gates claims the move will introduce a viable clean energy alternative to the US and give new technology to an industry with an image issue. But is it that simple? Let’s get into the details.
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Bill Gates’ bet on nuclear energy
The Microsoft founder and billionaire Bill Gates has been vocal about his views on nuclear energy: we need more of it to transition away from renewables. But he knows the industry suffers from a pretty big safety reputational issue and needs massive funding to get started, so he formed Terrapower in 2008.
At the company’s core is the Natrium nuclear energy system, which differs from traditional nuclear energy processes because it uses liquid sodium instead of water to regulate the heat generated from nuclear reactions. Liquid sodium can absorb a lot more heat than water can, so in theory it’s safe from nuclear meltdowns.
Terrapower raised $750 million in its latest funding round last year to develop the Natrium system and deliver its newest plan: a state-of-the-art energy plant in the US. There aren’t any whispers at the moment of an IPO for the company, but it could be on the cards given the significant investor interest to date.
What’s the latest on Terrapower?
Terrapower has now laid the groundwork for its first nuclear energy station in Kemmerer, Wyoming. The Natrium power plant is set to be operational by 2030.
In a blog post, Gates said the Natrium plant would be the safest nuclear power station in the world, would control how much energy it produces with a unique power storage system and provide thousands of jobs in the local area as the site progresses.
The Natrium plant received outside investment from South Korean conglomerate SK Group and steel manufacturing corporation ArcelorMittal, as well as $80 million in funding from the US government in 2020.
Given the boom in clean tech companies since the Biden administration came into power in the US, there’s hope this is the start of a nuclear energy boom for traders.
The bottom line
The Terrapower Natrium plant is very much a cross-jurisdictional effort to make nuclear energy a viable option if the planet is to avoid a climate disaster. It might sound too good to be true, but if it pays off, we’ll see a light at the end of the tunnel for the global environmental emergency.
As an investor, the renewables market is one to watch as nuclear and fusion energy continues to innovate. Or to make your life easier, you can let an AI investing algorithm handle the heavy lifting for you.
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