Newcleo Raises $85 Million to Advance Fourth-Generation Nuclear Reactors

newcleo, an Italian scaleup developing fourth-generation reactors using nuclear waste as fuel, founded by Stefano Buono, has announced that it has raised a further $85 million from investors, adding to the approximately $40 million raised at the beginning of 2025, for a total of $125 million raised in the last 12 months.

This collection represents the second tranche of the ongoing Series A round, which aims to raise one billion euros, and which opened in spring 2023. The first tranche closed in October 2024 with a total of 135 million euros. This new tranche of the round brings the total funds raised by the company since 2021 to over $755 million.

This round saw the continued support of existing shareholders, such as Kairos, Indaco Ventures, Azimut Investments (Azimut Group), the CERN pension fund and the Italian heavy industrial components manufacturer Walter Tosto , part of the Italian-Romanian group Tosto Group, with which newcleo had signed a commercial agreement in October 2023 strengthened by a work for equity mechanism that allowed Tosto Group to invest in newcleo.

Investment vehicles backed by industrial families active in the oil, hydrogen, and plastics sectors, as well as new industrial investors, also invested in newcleo’s round

Among these is Danieli & C. Officine Meccaniche spa , one of the most important international steel plant manufacturers, listed on Euronext Milan, with which Newcleo had signed a memorandum of understanding in March 2025 to explore the integration of Newcleo’s lead-cooled fast reactors (LFR) with Danieli’s steelmaking technology.

Another new shareholder is the technology company NextChem, part of the Marie engineering group listed on Euronext Milan. NextChem had signed an agreement in December 2024 to create a joint venture with Newcleo to develop next-generation power plants on a commercial scale, with Nextchem holding 60% and Newcleo holding 40%.

At the same time, it had already been stated at the time of the establishment of the joint venture, later christened NEXT-N, Maire would subscribe to a capital increase of newly issued Newcleo shares for a 5% stake, based on the pre-money valuation, following the achievement of certain milestones.

Among the new industrial investors is also the cement and concrete producer Cementir Holding NV, listed on the STAR segment of Euronext Milan, which entered the capital after last June newcleo signed a memorandum of understanding with Federbeton , the Italian federation of the cement and concrete supply chain, to explore potential synergies with the cement industry.

Finally, Orion Valves, a Trieste-based company producing valves and safety systems for the energy sector with a turnover of €132 million in 2024, is also a new shareholder. It invested through its Ecoline investment vehicle. Last December, Orion Valves’ president, Luca Farina, told the local press: “We are working with Newcleo on valves for fourth-generation nuclear power”

Stefano Buono, CEO of Newcleo, commented: “Our ability to provide high-impact low-carbon energy solutions for energy-intensive companies is proving to be an attractive investment rationale for both industrial and financial investors. Our tangible progress in licensing, research and development, vertical integration, and geographic expansion is seen by investors as a key differentiator in the race for clean, safe, and affordable nuclear energy.”

Buono added: “This financing will support the continued development of our R&D infrastructure in Europe, including the construction of Precursor, our non-nuclear reactor, and will accelerate our expansion in the United States , which today represents the most dynamic market for advanced reactor technologies. The United States is also home to significant, strategically aligned institutional investors and market opportunities we look forward to exploring.”

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(Featured image by Kilian Karger via Unsplash)

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