Last Energy

Last Energy is a Washington, DC-based nuclear energy company developing the PWR-20, a micro modular pressurized water reactor (PWR) designed to deliver 20 MW of electrical power (80 MW thermal) from an ultra-compact footprint of less than 0.5 acres. The company radically simplifies nuclear deployment by acting as the designer, builder, owner, and operator of its power plants, offering customers power via long-term Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) - meaning industrial clients and data centers receive reliable, behind-the-meter baseload power without having to develop, finance, or operate the nuclear asset themselves. The PWR-20 uses standard low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel at less than 5% enrichment, the same fuel used in over 300 operating reactors worldwide, and features a proprietary hermetically sealed steel containment vault weighing approximately 1,000 tons.

Last Energy was founded in 2019 as a spinout of the Energy Impact Center (EIC), a research institute founded by Bret Kugelmass in 2017 to identify scalable paths to affordable clean energy. After extensive research concluded that nuclear was the most viable solution, EIC launched Last Energy to commercialize a full-service nuclear deployment model. The PWR-20 is engineered for factory production and modular assembly, with each unit small enough that its nuclear island fits within the footprint of a single parking space. Units can be deployed in clusters - in parallel or sequentially - allowing customers to scale capacity as needed to meet growing energy demands.

Last Energy targets energy-intensive industries including data centers, metals, food and beverage, pulp and paper, chemicals, and cement - sectors that require 24/7 reliable baseload power and are increasingly challenged by grid constraints and decarbonization mandates. As AI-driven data center demand surges and industrial electrification accelerates, Last Energy's behind-the-meter, factory-built nuclear model represents a compelling alternative to grid dependence. Its significance to the US energy supply chain lies in its potential to mass-produce standardized nuclear power plants that can be deployed at or near industrial sites, reducing reliance on fossil fuel-based on-site generation and strengthening domestic energy resilience.