A BAE Systems spinout whose tech could help generate electricity at one-fifth of the cost of today’s nuclear power plants has come out of stealth, securing a £15m funding round led by IQ Capital. Manchester-based Nuclear Turbines is an energy startup developing compact modular nuclear systems to help make clean nuclear power cheaper than fossil fuels.
It is looking to reduce the high cost of generating nuclear power by replacing expensive steam turbine systems with “highly efficient” high-temperature turbine technology normally found in jet engines and gas-fired power plants, combined with a novel nuclear reactor design.
It says its tech is so compact that it can be deployed “behind the meter” on industrial sites, powering infrastructure such as industrial facilities and data centres and manufacturing facilities. It says its tech is building on advancements by small modular reactors by solving cost and scale challenges.
Other participants in the £15m funding rounds were Rhapsody Venture Partners, Zero Carbon Capital and Empirical Ventures. The startup, founded in 2025, says it will use the funding for design purposes, build large-scale test rigs and expand the team.
The startup was founded by former BAE Systems principal engineer Jeremy Owston and internationally renowned nuclear engineer professor Tim Abram, in partnership with Empirical Ventures' venture studio and spun out of BAE Systems, the defence giant.
