On Wednesday, Terrestrial Energy, a Canadian nuclear startup, announced its merger with an acquisition company, marking a significant milestone for the company.

Terrestrial Energy, which is developing innovative small modular reactors, anticipates generating $280 million from this deal. Prior to the SPAC merger, the company had secured $94 million in funding, as reported by PitchBook. Following the merger, the combined entity is expected to be listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the ticker symbol ISMR.

The choice of ticker symbol ISMR is a nod to Terrestrial Energy’s unique approach to small modular reactor technology, known as an integral molten salt reactor. This design involves combining uranium fuel with salts like lithium fluoride or sodium fluoride, which serve as both a suspension medium for the nuclear fuel and the reactor’s primary coolant.

The reactor core of Terrestrial Energy’s design is engineered to be completely replaced every seven years, addressing some of the challenges that plagued earlier molten salt reactor designs, such as corrosion. The core comprises not only the fuel and graphite moderators that regulate the speed of fission reactions but also the heat exchangers and pumps responsible for maintaining the salt’s temperature and flow.

Terrestrial Energy is targeting a broad range of applications, including electricity generation, data centers, and industrial processes that require heat, aiming to cater to diverse market needs.

Although numerous proposals for commercial-scale molten salt reactors have been put forth, none have come to fruition yet. The fundamental technology dates back to the 1950s, but early experiments were hindered by significant problems, as discussed in this article.

The renewed interest in nuclear power can be attributed to the surge in electricity demand driven by the electrification of buildings and transportation, as well as the rapid expansion of data centers, which is expected to double over the next five years.

Tech giants have begun to explore nuclear technology as a potential solution to meet the electricity requirements of AI training and inference. Companies like Google, Meta, Amazon, and OpenAI’s Sam Altman have invested in or partnered with nuclear startups, signaling a growing interest in this field.

Terrestrial Energy is not the first small modular reactor startup to undergo a SPAC merger, as Oklo, backed by Sam Altman, completed its deal in 2024. Given the current hype surrounding nuclear power, it is likely that Terrestrial Energy won’t be the last to follow this path.