The transaction values the company at approximately $2.4 billion. This move aligns with a trend of nuclear energy firms pursuing public listings amid surging power demands from the artificial intelligence sector.
Newcleo, which currently employs over 900 people, is developing non-nuclear test systems in Italy. The nuclear research company announced on Wednesday its plan to go public by merging with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), a deal that values the combined entity at around $2.4 billion. Headquartered in Paris with operations across seven countries including the United States, the company stated the merger will help it access the U.S. power market and fund existing European projects. Newcleo is the latest in a series of nuclear energy companies entering public markets, capitalizing on renewed interest and rising electricity demand in a sector once considered stagnant. As technology firms urgently seek new power sources to support AI operations, nuclear energy is increasingly viewed as a key future solution. Transaction Details Newcleo has entered into a merger agreement with NewHold Investment Corp III, a SPAC based in New York. The transaction, expected to close in the second half of this year, will result in the combined company trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol NWCL. NewHold's current ticker is NHIC. Since its founding in 2021, Newcleo has raised over $780 million. The merger is expected to provide more than $420 million in gross proceeds, sourced from cash in NewHold's trust account and a concurrent private investment in public equity (PIPE) transaction. Stefano Buono, the company's founder and CEO, stated this funding is sufficient to support operations through 2028-2029, even with an accelerated timeline for U.S. licensing and reactor construction. Newcleo currently has over 900 employees. The company conducts non-nuclear testing and related engineering work at the Brasimone Research Centre of the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, located near Bologna, Italy. Unlike traditional nuclear plants that use water to cool reactor cores, Newcleo's design employs liquid lead as a coolant. Liquid lead has a higher boiling point, allowing the reactor to operate at atmospheric pressure. The reactor uses mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel, derived from plutonium recycled from spent reactor fuel, excess government plutonium stockpiles, and depleted uranium. Newcleo's reactors can supply both electricity and heat, or either independently. A single reactor has an electrical output of 200 megawatts—about one-fifth the size of a large traditional reactor—and a thermal power of 480 megawatts, suitable for high-temperature industrial applications like steel and chemical production. Industry Context Newcleo's move follows a broader trend where nuclear development firms are turning to public markets to fund capital-intensive, complex projects. Oklo went public in 2024 via a SPAC backed by Sam Altman and currently holds a market valuation of approximately $11 billion. NuScale Power merged with a SPAC in 2022 and is valued around $4 billion. X-Energy completed an initial public offering in April of this year, also valued at roughly $11 billion. As nuclear companies race to secure regulatory approvals and build next-generation reactors, Newcleo is focusing on the U.S. market. The new generation of smaller nuclear projects must demonstrate an ability to be built on schedule and within budget, contrasting with the cost and timeline overruns historically associated with large-scale plants. For some startups, merging with a SPAC offers an attractive alternative to the lengthy and complex traditional IPO process. Buono stated that the SPAC route was chosen primarily to accelerate the company's U.S. operations. The firm aims to build a fuel fabrication plant by 2031 and deploy its first commercial reactor by 2032, with potential to advance these timelines. In March, the company initiated pre-application interactions with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for its first U.S. reactor and fuel fabrication facility. The combined company will maintain its headquarters in Paris. Buono noted that U.S. policy initially did not support reactors using recycled fuel, but an executive order signed during the Trump administration shifted federal policy to encourage nuclear fuel recycling, clearing a path for Newcleo's entry. "I always wanted to come back to the U.S. because I know the resources, the money, and the support for technological innovation are much stronger than in Europe," Buono said. A physicist by training, Buono previously founded and led Advanced Accelerator Applications, a nuclear medicine company that went public on Nasdaq in 2015 and was acquired by Novartis for $3.9 billion in 2018. Kevin Charlton, CEO of NewHold, said his team evaluated nearly 300 potential deals and was impressed by Newcleo's reactor design, fuel strategy, and supply chain management. "This is not a science project. This is a company that is focused on building a real business and commercializing it," said Charlton, a former aerospace engineer. In the U.S., Newcleo has partnered with Oklo to develop shared nuclear fuel production infrastructure. Both companies were named on Tuesday to the U.S. Department of Energy's "pre-selection" list, making them candidates to receive excess plutonium from military stockpiles. In Europe, Newcleo is conducting liquid lead-related non-nuclear testing in Italy, where a non-nuclear demonstration reactor is under construction. The company has also established a joint venture in Slovakia with a state-owned nuclear decommissioning firm.
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