Avalanche Energy is working to develop modular nuclear fusion reactors that could be strung together like battery cells — and it’s won backing from the U.S. Defense Department.
Why it matters: The approach, if successful, could unlock near-limitless power for everything from space travel to ocean shipping to long-haul trucking, the Avalanche team tells Axios.
What’s happening: The Defense Innovation Unit this month granted a “Prototype Other Transaction” contract to Avalanche Energy to “demonstrate the next generation of nuclear propulsion and power capability for spacecraft.”
- The other contract recipient: Ultra Safe Nuclear, which you might recognize from our Hot Deals and It’s Personnel rundowns.
Driving the news: Avalanche hopes to develop a reactor roughly the size of a shoe box and send it to space as early as 2027.