Nano Nuclear Energy Inc. (NNE) shares climbed Thursday after the company announced it's hunting for commercial partners to help turn its space reactor concept into reality.
The company issued a formal Request for Information aimed at finding organizations with expertise in space fission power technology. Think of it as Nano Nuclear publicly asking: who out there can help us build nuclear reactors for the Moon?
The RFI, titled "Nano Nuclear Energy NASA Surface Fission Power Partnership Capabilities," is specifically looking for partners with experience in technology development, system integration, and operational support related to the company's LOKI MMR microreactor.
Why Space Needs Nuclear Power
Here's the problem Nano Nuclear is trying to solve: the United States wants to establish a sustained presence on the Moon and eventually Mars, but you can't exactly run a lunar base on solar panels alone. The Moon's night lasts about two weeks. Mars gets dusty. Solar becomes unreliable fast.
A 2025 executive order set ambitious goals including sustained lunar presence by 2028 and the beginnings of an outpost by 2030. NASA and its partners have been emphasizing technologies that can operate independently of intermittent energy sources, reduce operational risk, and support continuous surface activities.
Fission-based nuclear systems are increasingly seen as the most scalable solution. They work regardless of whether the sun is shining, they're compact, and they can provide steady power for years.
Jay Yu, founder and chairman of Nano Nuclear, said the RFI helps position the company to support national space exploration goals. He noted that responses will inform how the company plans the next phases of reactor integration and maturation.
What LOKI Actually Is
The LOKI MMR microreactor is being developed by Nano Nuclear Space specifically for extraterrestrial power challenges. It's designed to handle extended lunar nights, Martian winters, autonomous operations, and passive safety requirements.
The technical specs are impressive: the system targets between 300 kilowatts and 1 megawatt of electrical output, though it's scalable down to 100 kilowatts for space applications. It uses helium and supercritical CO₂ as coolants and relies on TRISO fuel enriched with low-enriched uranium or high-assay low-enriched uranium.
Perhaps most importantly for space applications, the reactor is engineered to weigh less than 15 metric tons and operate for up to 10 years without refueling. That's critical when your nearest refueling station is 238,900 miles away.