Shrinking Nuclear Power’s Biggest Hardware Challenge: Apollo Atomics’ 40x Smaller Steam Generator

Apollo Atomics (“Apollo”), founded in 2025 by Assil Halimi and Drew Walker, is seeking to make nuclear energy more affordable by redesigning its steam generator. Steam generators are one of the largest and most complex components of a nuclear reactor, using steam from the reactor’s coolant to drive a turbine, converting thermal energy into electricity.

Apollo’s new steam generator can be mass-manufactured in factories and built approximately 40 times smaller than conventional systems. This allows more power to be generated in a smaller space while reducing costs by four to five times. Rather than reinventing nuclear power plants, Apollo is advancing nuclear energy generation by addressing existing hardware challenges, including system size and complexity, and leveraging existing technologies known to the industry.

Apollo recently raised US$31 million, including US$5 million in debt, in preparation for commercial development in 2028. The funding will be used to support reactor testing, expand Apollo’s manufacturing capabilities and secure necessary regulatory approvals. Having already built and tested a model reactor alongside MIT’s Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering, Apollo is constructing its next demonstrator to study long-term system reliability and manufacturing scaling as it continues toward commercial development.