Nuclear Turbines raises £15m led by IQ Capital with Rhapsody Venture Partners
This article covers Nuclear Turbines, an energy startup spun out of BAE Systems, which has raised £15m in a growth funding round led by IQ Capital with participation from Rhapsody Venture Partners, Zero Carbon Capital and Empirical Ventures. The funding will support validation of a compact high-temperature turbine reactor design that aims to lower the cost of nuclear-generated electricity and enable behind-the-meter deployment at industrial sites, affecting energy-intensive industries and the UK energy sector.
Nuclear Turbines, an energy startup spun out of BAE Systems, has raised £15m in a growth funding round led by IQ Capital, with participation from Rhapsody Venture Partners, Zero Carbon Capital and Empirical Ventures. The money will be used to validate a compact high-temperature turbine reactor design that the company says could cut the cost of nuclear-generated electricity and allow deployment behind the meter at industrial sites — a proposition pitched as a response to high UK energy prices and a push for domestic low-carbon power.
Why it matters
UK businesses face some of the highest industrial electricity costs in Europe, a pain point cited by Nuclear Turbines as central to its pitch. The company argues that lower-cost, on-site nuclear power could change the economics for energy-intensive facilities such as data centres and manufacturing plants, reducing reliance on grid-supplied electricity and supporting industrial competitiveness.
The funding also arrives amid national policy moves to accelerate nuclear deployment, including references in the Nuclear Regulatory Review 2025, the government’s Advanced Nuclear Framework and the Clean Energy Industries Sector Plan. The deal reflects growing interest from UK energy investors in novel nuclear approaches that promise faster, cheaper build cycles than traditional large reactors.
Inside the product
Nuclear Turbines replaces the steam turbine systems used in conventional reactors with high-temperature turbine technology more commonly found in jet engines and gas-fired power plants. By removing the need for extensive steam infrastructure, the company says the design can be made compact enough for behind-the-meter installation on industrial sites.
The founders claim the technology can produce electricity at one-fifth the cost of today’s nuclear power plants, a bold figure that, if realised, would reshape the economics of industrial energy supply. The funding will advance reactor validation work, build large-scale test rigs and expand the team as the company prepares to manufacture its first fuel elements.
The business was founded by former BAE Systems principal engineer Jeremy Owston and nuclear engineer Professor Tim Abram. Alongside the financing, Nuclear Turbines has hired Lauren Dickerson as Chief Commercial and Strategy Officer; she joins from Centrica, where she spent more than four years as Strategy Director.
Who are the investors?
The round was led by IQ Capital. Other participants include Rhapsody Venture Partners, Zero Carbon Capital and Empirical Ventures, with Empirical Studios and Empirical Ventures noted as early collaborators on engineering and design work.
IQ Capital described the investment as a bet on a design that addresses both cost and sustainability. Jordan Billiald, Investor at IQ Capital, said:
This is the first time I've seen an SMR design that genuinely solves the economic and sustainability equation, and it's at a time when market dynamics, government ambition and regulatory reform are creating unprecedented opportunity. Nuclear Turbines is perfectly positioned to capture that opportunity and to make sure the UK is not left out of the global nuclear race. With its deep engineering and nuclear heritage, the UK has a real right to win in this space, and Nuclear Turbines is the kind of company the UK venture ecosystem needs to back.
Rhapsody Venture Partners highlighted export potential and the role of cheap power in industrial policy. Jason Whaley, General Partner at Rhapsody Venture Partners, said:
Energy is the number one competitive differentiator for any industrial nation. American industry talks a lot about reshoring and energy independence, but you need the genuinely cheap, reliable power that Nuclear Turbines is building to make those economics work. In doing so, they won't just be exporting reactors, they'll be exporting the fuel supply chain and setting the global standard.
Empirical Ventures, which worked with the founders from early on, framed the deal in the context of government ambition for British innovation. Ben Miles, Partner at Empirical Ventures, said:
This month the government heralded a 'golden age of nuclear power in Britain,' while Andy Burnham, in a major speech a few weeks ago in Manchester, promised to back 'our scientists, technologists and entrepreneurs… to show how Britain will be the Innovation Nation of the decade.' We believe Nuclear Turbines embodies that promise: the best of British nuclear talent spun out of a UK-listed global engineering powerhouse, with committed, expert deep tech investors. It's why Empirical Studios and Empirical Ventures worked with Tim and Jeremy from day one to solve Britain's energy crisis and power our manufacturing and AI industries into the next decade.
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Founder perspective
Jeremy Owston, co-founder, set out the company’s rationale for its different approach. Jeremy Owston, Co-founder, said:
The nuclear industry has always designed reactors first, then figured out what to do with the heat. We flipped this script: we started with the cheapest way to generate power and designed a reactor to fit. If we're serious about reindustrialising while meeting climate goals, we need energy that's clean and cheap. We've created the only tech that solves both, from the UK.
Co-founder Tim Abram brings academic and industry nuclear engineering experience to the design work; the pair’s BAE Systems heritage underpins the company’s claim of deep engineering capability.
The bigger picture
Advanced nuclear concepts such as high-temperature turbine reactors sit at the intersection of energy policy, industrial strategy and climate goals. If the cost and deployment claims are borne out, the technology could offer a route to decentralised, low-carbon baseload power for industry and data infrastructure. However, realising those outcomes requires navigating regulatory approval, demonstration timelines and the practicalities of fuel manufacture and supply chains.
The round indicates that specialist deep tech investors are prepared to back higher-capital energy projects at earlier stages, but the broader roll-out will depend on clear regulatory pathways and sustained policy support. For the UK, the question is whether smaller, faster reactor models can be scaled within domestic supply chains and exported to markets seeking alternatives to large conventional reactors.
This funding round adds to a small but growing pipeline of UK advanced nuclear projects and shows investor appetite for technologies positioned to cut industrial energy costs. How quickly those projects progress will be an early test of the country’s ability to turn policy promises into commercially deployable clean power.
They've invested in Nuclear Turbines
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| Investors | Investment Focus | Startup Investments | Round Size | Connect |
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 IQ Capital( ) IQ Capital is a dedicated European deep tech venture capital firm, specialising ... London, Cambridge  | ||||
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 Zero Carbon Capital( ) | ||||
 Empirical Ventures( ) Empirical is a specialist VC and venture builder based in Europe, focusing on ea... Bristol | ||||
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