Modular Military Reactors

Antares Unveiled Its Mark-0 Small Modular Reactor

Antares Nuclear has raised $470 million in Series C funding, led by Paradigm and Caffeinated Capital, to advance its small modular reactors for U.S. military installations. The round included $370 million in equity and $100 million in debt, bringing Antares' total funding to $604 million. The company is developing reactors designed to generate between 100 kilowatts and 1 megawatt of electricity using TRISO fuel.

Antares' Mark-0 demonstration reactor reached criticality on June 4 at Idaho National Laboratory. The company is also one of three finalists in the Pentagon's Advanced Nuclear Power for Installations program, which will test small modular reactors at Air Force bases in Colorado and Montana. Antares aims to bring its first electricity-producing reactor online next year, with military deployments planned for 2028.

Antares' funding signals growing investor confidence that military installations could provide an early commercialization pathway for advanced nuclear technologies while broader SMR manufacturing and cost challenges remain unresolved.

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