Bluecore Energy Buys Its First Uranium for Floating Nuclear Power in the US
Cubierto por 3 fuentesPublicado
US maritime nuclear energy startup Bluecore Energy has secured low-enriched uranium for its first floating power system, while simultaneously advancing fuel supply, regulatory work, and classification of its project. The Long Beach-based company is developing a compact water-cooled reactor designed from the outset to operate aboard a floating platform.
Fuel Purchase Details
Bluecore purchased uranium hexafluoride (UF6) enriched to 4.95% uranium-235 through nuclear fuel broker WMC. The material is being stored at a US nuclear facility outside California as the company moves toward fuel fabrication, testing, and validation. UF6 is the form of uranium used during enrichment and is later converted into uranium dioxide to manufacture the pellets that make up the reactor fuel.
Reactor Design
Bluecore's first system is built around a 10 MWe barge-mounted reactor, called BC-15, a conventional pressurized water-cooled type using standardized commercial fuel. The company's initial goal is to supply power to ports, data centers, and coastal infrastructure, with longer-term plans to extend the technology toward ship propulsion.
Regulatory and Classification Progress
Alongside the fuel effort, Bluecore is holding pre-application discussions with the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, with which it held its first meeting in August, and with the US Coast Guard, which is involved due to the overlap between nuclear regulation and maritime requirements. In June 2026, ABS granted Approval in Principle for Bluecore's floating nuclear plant concept, which the company described as the first such approval for a US-designed floating nuclear plant, setting out a roadmap of technical requirements to be met as the design advances.
Funding and Operations
These developments come just months after Bluecore, which emerged from stealth mode in July, closed a $50 million seed round in September led by Silverton Partners, following $10 million in prior funding. The company is headquartered at Berth D in the Port of Long Beach, where it assembles and tests an unfueled marine reactor module, though it clarified that no active nuclear fuel is kept at that facility. Megan Moyette, Bluecore's Head of Licensing and Safety, said the company's goal is not simply to move fast, but to deliver zero-emission power as safely and quickly as possible.
