NANO Nuclear Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: NNE) has joined the Virginia Nuclear Energy Consortium (VNEC), the group said on July 17, 2026. As part of the membership, NANO Nuclear Chief Executive Officer James Walker will join the VNEC board of directors.
What VNEC does
VNEC brings together nuclear technology developers, utilities, engineering and construction firms, universities, and research institutions active in Virginia's nuclear industry. The state legislature formally established the consortium in 2015 to promote and advance the nuclear industry across the Commonwealth. It acts as a public resource on nuclear energy issues and works to speed up research, workforce training, and technology commercialization in the state.
Virginia's nuclear history goes back to 1957, when the Fort Belvoir nuclear generator delivered the state's first nuclear-generated power to the grid.
A strategic plan built around growing demand
VNEC and its industry partners wrote the Virginia Is Nuclear 2025-2029 Strategic Plan, which calls for deploying advanced and small modular reactors, setting up a research and education reactor facility through the Virginia Innovative Nuclear Hub, securing funding for projects in manufacturing, fuel fabrication, and nuclear medicine, expanding the nuclear supply chain, and building a larger nuclear workforce.
Virginia is home to the world's largest data center market, and the growth of artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and digital services is pushing electricity demand higher. State regulators have already moved on dedicated rate structures and cost-allocation rules for large-load customers while they study grid reliability and demand flexibility.
"Virginia represents one of the most compelling locations in the United States," said Jay Yu, Chairman and Founder of NANO Nuclear Energy, of the state's future for advanced nuclear deployment.
NANO Nuclear's reactor lineup
NANO Nuclear is developing the KRONOS MMR Energy System, a stationary high-temperature gas-cooled reactor now in construction permit pre-application engagement with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, done in collaboration with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The company is also developing ZEUS, a portable solid core battery reactor, and LOKI MMR, a portable reactor aimed at space applications.
Two subsidiaries round out the company's nuclear fuel business. Advanced Fuel Transportation Inc., which acquired Secured Transportation Services in May 2026, holds the exclusive license to a patented high-capacity fuel transportation basket for High-Assay, Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU) developed by three U.S. national nuclear laboratories and funded by the Department of Energy. HALEU Energy Fuel Inc., a separate subsidiary, is working on a domestic HALEU fuel fabrication pipeline for NANO Nuclear's reactors and the wider advanced nuclear industry.
Walker said the VNEC membership puts the company "within an influential and highly collaborative nuclear community at exactly the right time," and pointed to the fit between NANO Nuclear's vertically integrated model and Virginia's nuclear ambitions.
