Editor’s Brief

Last Week we looked at In-Q-Tel, the nonprofit venture arm of the intelligence community.

This week we’re moving into Energy and looking at Antares Industries, a company building micro reactors for the edge.

I am not a nuclear engineer so I have endeavored to keep the technical aspects light. If you have deep nuclear expertise and want to share some thoughts on the engineering side of Antares, please reach out.

Signal Brief: Antares Industries – Microreactors to Untether the Battlefield

Antares Industries is a Los Angeles–based startup building microreactors for defense, space, and off-grid infrastructure. The company is aligned with DoD’s modernization push for energy resilience and supply chain independence, aiming to “untether” forward bases and critical sites from vulnerable logistics in the Pacific Theater.

Origins & Vision

Founded in 2023 by Jordan Bramble (ex-White House OMB; Northrop Grumman) and Julia DeWahl (ex-SpaceX Starlink operations), Antares set out to prove that small nuclear systems could be both practical and scalable.

They saw a market opportunity in going small with nuclear technology and their initial focus is on defense use cases (forward operating bases, radar sites, etc.), where resilient off-grid energy can reduce the heavy burden of diesel fuel logistics.

In March 2024, the team demonstrated an important reactor component and by October 2024 they raised a $30M Series A and began building a 128,000 sq ft Torrance facility for manufacturing and systems integration.

This year, Antares was for the DOE’s Reactor Pilot Program and DIU’s Advanced Nuclear Power for Installations (ANPI). These selections place them in a small cohort of vendors trusted to design, build, and test military-scale microreactors.

Key Takeaways

• Energy logistics = operational freedom. Microreactors can replace fuel convoys with multi-year baseload power at remote sites.

• Passive systems enable autonomy. Heat pipe cooling works without moving parts, lowering maintenance demands in contested zones.

• Vertical integration. In-house graphite machining and heat pipe fabrication give Antares more control than peers.

• Government validation. DOE and DoD pilot programs position the company for a multi-billion-dollar opportunity set.

• Dual-use upside. The same design could power lunar bases and enable nuclear propulsion for space

Tech Radar:

R1 Microreactor Platform – Kilowatt-Scale Expeditionary Power

The R1 is designed to deliver 100–500 kWe of continuous power for 4–6 years without refueling. Built for remote, mission-critical environments, it combines proven nuclear fuels with modern controls and packaging.

Key Capabilities

• TRISO Fuel Core. Uranium particles encased in graphite, locking fission products inside even under high heat.

• Sodium Heat Pipe Array. Passive heat transfer with no pumps or moving parts.

• Autonomous Controls. Digital twin–validated algorithms reduce operator load.

• Transportable Package. Integrated shielding and cradle system for rapid deployment.

Market Signals

Funding & Growth

• Total Funding: $38 million across 2 rounds

• Latest Round: $30 million Series A (October 2024)

• Notable Investors: Alt Capital, Caffeinated Capital, Humba Ventures, Rogue, Uncommon Capital, Shrug, Banter Capital, BoxGroup, Shine Capital

• Valuation: Undisclosed

Contracts & Government Traction

• NASA SBIR (Sep ’25): ~$150K for high-temp radiator coating

• Air Force SBIR Phase II (Aug ’24): $3.75M across three contracts for microreactors and space systems

• HALEU Fuel Allocation: Secured enriched uranium for first cores

• Idaho National Lab (Jul ’25): $40M+ partnership to build and test R1

• DOE Reactor Pilot Program (Aug ’25): Authorization to demo reactors at national labs

• DoD Advanced Nuclear Power for Installations (Apr ’25): Selected by DIU as one of 8 eligible companies for deployment pilots

Looking Ahead

At SoCal Deep Tech Week an entire day was devoted to the “third nuclear renaissance.” Barriers to implementation are real: high costs, long construction timelines, regulatory hurdles, and supply chain fragility.

Each on its own is a full discussion but one “challenge” I have experience first hand is safety and public skepticism.

Across three generations, my family has lived alongside nuclear power: my grandfather trained at the Naval Reactors Facility in Idaho Falls, my dad served on the USS Whale during the Cold War, and I’ve spent well over a year of my life living just a few decks above a reactor aboard the USS Carl Vinson.

Names like Chernobyl, Fukushima, and Three Mile Island are commonly cited as catastrophic incidents and should be used as guidelines.

But since Admiral Hyman Rickover, the “father of the nuclear Navy,” launched the program in the late 1940s, Naval Reactors have accumulated more than 7,600 reactor-years of safe operation across 450+ cores without losing a single ship to the plant itself. 

Radiation exposure for operators is often lower than ashore, and for decades, 18- to 24-year-olds have safely run these systems. If the Navy has trusted young sailors to manage reactors at sea, the case for small, automated terrestrial systems is strong.

The West Coast Navy and Marine Corps installations are gateways to the Pacific: Camp Pendleton, Miramar, and Yuma train more than 75% of Marines who deploy overseas, while San Diego is homeport to carriers, submarines, and surface ships. Yet these bases rely on aging infrastructure and the fragile Southern California grid.

Microreactors from companies like Antares could anchor base microgrids, supplying high-density, long-duration power independent of public utilities. Forward bases, radar sites, and expeditionary hubs could deploy compact systems that provide continuous energy resilience in contested zones.

Yes, policy debates and technical risks remain. But unless someone has found new problems with the laws of physics, it’s time to put more people back to sleep above some “hot rocks” on an aircraft carrier and remember that nuclear power has been safe, stable, and proven for decades.

Challenges

• TRISO fuel supply. Limited U.S. production could constrain scaling regardless of demand.

• Regulatory complexity. NRC licensing for operational deployment remains long and uncertain.

• Capital intensity. Nuclear hardware requires patient capital and extended timelines.
  (These hurdles confront every nuclear startup; Antares’s edge lies in vertical integration and early government validation.)

Bottom Line:

Antares shows that nuclear power doesn't have to be a relic of the Cold War or a target of public fear.  It can be a tool for resilience, mobility, and confidence at the tactical edge.

If the U.S. can move past outdated fears and focus on physics and performance, microreactors could deliver the same secure power that has quietly run carriers and submarines for generations.  Only this time at forward bases, radar sites, and expeditionary hubs.

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