FAQ

Our power plant operates as a combined heat and power (CHP) facility, generating 20 megawatts of electricity (MWe) and delivering up to 83 megawatts of thermal energy (MWt).

The physical footprint of one power plant is about half an acre (0.2 ha), or less than one-third the size of a standard football (soccer) pitch. The PWR-20’s compact footprint allows for co-location with industrial sites and deployment of multiple units on a site.

Last Energy's reactor technology is a scaled-down one-loop pressurized water reactor (PWR), the same reactor technology found in over 300 operating power plants around the world. To ensure operational performance and minimize delivery and operating delays, Last Energy specifically avoids introducing new fuel types, reactor physics, or material science.

The PWR-20 is fully modular, designed for factory fabrication, road transport, and quick assembly on-site, much like a lego-kit. The power plant is made of dozens of standardized modules, where equipment is skid-mounted and outfitted with a set of quick assembly mechanical, structural, and electrical connectors. Factory manufacturing ensures quality control and eliminates in-field construction delays. This modular approach enables the use of standard transportation and assembly methods, ultimately reducing on-site assembly time, and expediting installation and delivery.

Our power plant capacity factor exceeds 95%, delivering clean, reliable energy for baseload industrial applications.

The PWR-20 uses low-enriched uranium (LEU), the industry’s most widely utilized and readily available fuel, sourced from a standard fuel supply chain. We use industry-standard uranium dioxide (UO2) pellets in a 17x17 configuration, enriched up to 4.95%.

From the final investment decision (FID), the PWR-20 takes 24 months to deliver, including manufacturing, fabrication of components off-site, civil site preparation, and on-site assembly.

The PWR-20 has a design life of 42 years with an option for extension.

The PWR-20 reactor has a 72 month fueling cycle with a scheduled three month refueling and maintenance process, when a new, fueled reactor module is inserted into an open slot in the nuclear island, like adding a new, fully charged battery. Each reactor module remains in place for the remaining lifetime of the power plant, thus minimizing operational complexity and human intervention.

At the end of plant life, or ‘decommissioning,’ Last Energy manages spent fuel disposal in line with national policy and regulatory requirements. Spent fuel will be stored on-site until a suitable time frame for transfer to a final off-site disposal facility or reprocessing center. During plant operations, Last Energy uses an on-site wet and dry spent fuel storage system that minimizes human intervention.

The PWR-20’s passive safety critical systems are housed within a robust and secure containment, enabling the power plant to withstand external events while facilitating a safe and controlled shutdown should the need arise. All safety activities, encompassing organizational, behavioral, and equipment-related aspects, are supported by multiple layers of overlapping provisions, aimed at preventing harm to individuals or the environment. These features are aligned with the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Defense in Depth principle, which forms the foundation of the PWR-20 design.

Last Energy brings the energy-as-a-service model to the nuclear sector by taking full responsibility for all deployment activities—from product design to operations and maintenance. Visit our Approach Page to learn more.

Last Energy’s first manufacturing and fabrication facilities are located in Texas.

The PWR-20 is currently in the detailed design phase, with the fabrication of module structural elements and procurement activities for all major equipment in progress. See footage from our demonstration model here.

Last Energy leverages existing workforce knowledge by utilizing standard balance of plant components found in hundreds of operating power plants. By pursuing a fully factory built design with off-the-shelf components, Last Energy supports the development and growth of the existing energy supply chain.

Last Energy currently focuses its development efforts in the United Kingdom, Poland, Romania, and the Netherlands. To learn more about our full-service approach to project development, contact our sales team.

The modular and compact design of the PWR-20 power plant, featuring air cooling, no-bedrock requirement, minimal footprint, and a low vertical profile, enables near-universal siting by eliminating the need for water proximity, accommodating various terrains, occupying less space, and minimizing visual impact. See our Siting Fact Sheet to learn more about our flexible siting capabilities.

The power plant’s air cooling for tertiary heat removal eliminates the need to site near bodies of water. A municipal water connection or well meets all water requirements. See our Siting Fact Sheet to learn more about our plant’s siting requirements.

The PWR-20 power plants are suited for a range of industries, including data centers, manufacturing facilities for steel, chemicals, and cement, district heating applications, and as replacements for older fossil combined heat and power (CHP) units, providing 24/7 clean energy and enabling industrial customers to focus on their business while ensuring pricing certainty and avoiding high transmission fees. Long term price contracts provide pricing certainty to customers enabling them to complete corporate forecasts with a higher level of certainty. To learn more about the industries we service, contact our sales team.

We utilize proven reactor technology with operational predictability to achieve a streamlined nuclear licensing process. Our fleet approach—deploying a standard, replicable product—allows Last Energy to accelerate ongoing and subsequent regulatory assessments.

Last Energy’s contracting options provide long-term, time-matched commitments, price stability, and carbon-free energy to customers through physical power purchase agreements (PPA) and virtual PPAs. Both structures allow for projects to be privately financed, meaning there are no upfront capital or operational expenditures to the customer.

Under a physical PPA structure, siting can be done through a microgrid or direct wire connection where we co-locate within industrial sites to provide power, eliminating distribution and transmission charges from the grid. 

Like physical PPAs, virtual PPAs allow customers to offset their Scope 2 and 3 emissions, but without any physical connection to our power plants.

Following official commercial agreement, Last Energy is responsible for all project financing, development, delivery, licensing, and operations and maintenance of the power plants.

To  learn more about our contracting structure, contact our sales team.