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 0.3 acres (0.1 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 four-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. The power plant is made of a few dozen 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’s reactor is housed within a subterranean, steel-contained Nuclear Island module. After 72 months of operation, the fuel becomes spent, and the entire module is retired to cool in place for the remainder of the plant’s life. Subsequently, a new, pre-fueled Nuclear Island module is installed and connected to the power plant—similar to inserting a new, fully charged battery. This process eliminates the need for human contact with nuclear material during operation, refueling, and decommissioning. 

At decommissioning, spent fuel is contained and securely stored on-site until it can be transferred to an authorized disposal or reprocessing facility. Our decommissioning and waste management plans comply with all applicable local and national regulatory standards. Throughout plant operations, Last Energy utilizes a wet and dry spent fuel storage system to minimize human intervention. No nuclear material can be brought on-site or transferred without the necessary permits and regulatory approvals.

The PWR-20’s nuclear components are housed within a robust, subterranean 12 inch thick steel containment system. This system is engineered to be able to withstand any conceivable external event or kinetic force, and meet n the most conservative regulatory safety thresholds. Last Energy asserts that safety, security, nonproliferation, waste, and human error concerns can be addressed by enveloping all radioactive material within this structure. The PWR-20 additionally employs passive safety systems, enabling a safe and controlled shutdown of the power plant without the need for human intervention, should the need arise.

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 has existing manufacturing partnerships in Texas and Europe and is actively developing domestic supply chains in each market we operate.

The PWR-20 has reached design maturity, enabling us to proceed with ordering all major equipment and submitting technical licensing documentation.

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.

Our development efforts are primarily focused on the United Kingdom and Romania, among other markets.

The PWR-20 was designed for near-universal siting. Its fully modular components are factory-fabricated, shipped to site, and assembled within months, streamlining construction. Its air-cooling system eliminates the need for a nearby water source, while its small footprint and low vertical profile reduce environmental and community impact. See our Siting Fact Sheet for more details.

While traditional nuclear power plants require up to 500,000 gallons of water per minute (gpm), the PWR-20 uses less than one gpm. The plant’s air cooling system removes tertiary heat, minimizing the amount of water necessary. This eliminates the need to site the plant near a body of water; instead, the requisite water can be delivered to site via trucked-in containers. See our Siting Fact Sheet to learn more about the PWR-20’s flexible siting requirements.

The PWR-20 is suited for a range of customers, 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. The PWR-20 provides 24/7 clean energy and enables siting flexibility, while Last Energy’s PPA model provides pricing certainty. To learn more about the industries we service, contact our sales team.

The PWR-20 utilizes proven reactor technology with operational predictability to expedite the nuclear licensing process. Following certification, Last Energy deploys the same standardized, mass-manufacturable product at every site, thus reducing regulatory complexity and the barrier to subsequent deployment. Our robust subterranean containment system is also engineered to meet the most conservative safety margins. This approach minimizes regulatory ambiguity and ensures a predictable, streamlined, and efficient approval process.

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.