How to Invest in TerraPower in 2024

Fossil fuel emissions — like those produced by coal, oil, and natural gas — are the dominant cause of global warming.

Replacing those fuel sources with cleaner options is critically important.

While solar and wind are usually at the top of the list of viable alternatives, they're intermittent, meaning they can only capture energy when it's sunny or windy, not all the time.

Enter: nuclear power.

Unfortunately, nuclear energy fell out of favor decades ago after high-profile catastrophes at Three Mile Island (1979), Chernobyl (1986), and later at Fukushima (2011).

Modern nuclear power needs to be completely fail-safe.

That's where TerraPower comes in. Here's an overview of what TerraPower does, as well as how you can invest in it while it's still a private company.

What is TerraPower?

TerraPower is a nuclear reactor design and development company that aims to create safe, affordable, and carbon-free energy. 

The company was founded by Bill Gates, a long-time supporter of nuclear energy.

Bill Gates founded TerraPower in 2006 with the goal of overhauling traditional nuclear power plant design.

Unlike legacy nuclear reactors, TerraPower's reactors use passive safety systems, which automatically shut down the reactor in the event of a power loss or other emergency.

Nuclear energy is already a major power source for countries like Belgium (50%), France (70%), and Ukraine (50%).

If the technology continues to improve in safety and efficiency, nuclear power could become the dominant energy source for countries all over the world.

Needless to say, if TerraPower gets the design and technology right, it would be worth billions.

And, if you qualify, you can invest in its stock.

Can you buy TerraPower stock?

TerraPower is a private startup. It doesn't trade on a public exchange and there is no TerraPower stock symbol.

That said, its shares do trade on Hiive, a marketplace where accredited investors can buy shares of pre-IPO companies.

Accreditation requirements

To qualify as an accredited investor, you must meet one of the following criteria:

• Have an annual income of $200,000 individually or $300,000 jointly.
• Have a net worth that exceeds $1,000,000, excluding your main residence.
• Be a qualifying financial professional.

On Hiive, accredited investors can invest in many of the world's most valuable startups, including SpaceX, Databricks, and OpenAI.

There are also a few orders of TerraPower available for investment:

Each of these orders was created by a unique seller who may be a current or former employee, a venture capitalist, or an angel investor. When creating their listing, every seller sets their own asking price and quantity of shares available. 

Once a listing is active, buyers can accept a seller's asking price as listed or place a bid on their shares. Buyers can also add companies to their watchlist and get notified of any new listings or transactions.

You can get started by creating an account with the button below: 

Register for Hiive

Can retail investors buy TerraPower stock?

Since TerraPower is not a public company, no, retail investors cannot buy its stock.

However, there are some other investment options available.

As a part of its first commercial project in Kemmerer, Wyoming (more on this below), TerraPower partnered with Southern Company (SO) to develop a molten chloride fast reactor. The companies began non-nuclear testing on the design in October 2024.

While Southern Company would certainly benefit if TerraPower becomes a major player in nuclear energy and the partnership between the two companies continues, it already generates annual revenue of over $26 billion. 

Unless TerraPower brings it a lot of business, Southern Company's stock price will not be affected much by the partnership.

You may also be interested in nuclear energy stocks and ETFs, such as:

• NuScale Power (SMR), like TerraPower, designs and develops small modular reactors (SMRs) that offer a scalable, flexible, and safer solution for clean nuclear energy production.
• Constellation Energy (CEG) is a leading energy producer with a focus on expanding its renewable energy and carbon-free power generation portfolio to meet the growing demand for sustainable energy solutions.
• Centrus Energy (LEU) provides advanced nuclear fuel and uranium enrichment services that support the development and operation of clean nuclear power plants.
• Oklo (OKLO) is developing compact, advanced fission reactors that aim to deliver efficient, safe, and carbon-free energy through innovative small-scale nuclear technology. Notably, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is an investor and board member.
• Cameco (CCJ) is one of the world's largest producers of uranium, supplying the raw material essential for the clean energy generation of nuclear power plants.
• VanEck Uranium and Nuclear ETF (NLR) tracks a market-cap-weighted index of companies in the global nuclear energy industry.
• Range Nuclear Renaissance ETF (NUKZ) tracks a market cap-weighted index of stocks of companies from around the world that are operating within the nuclear fuel and energy industry.

You can invest in all of these today if you have a brokerage account.

Does TerraPower have any operational facilities?

In June 2024, TerraPower broke ground on its first commercial reactor in Kemmerer, Wyoming.

This is the first advanced non-light water nuclear reactor project to move from design to construction.

What is a non-light water nuclear reactor?

A non-light water nuclear reactor is a type of nuclear reactor that uses coolants or neutron moderators other than light water (ordinary water), such as molten salt, gas, liquid sodium, or lead, to improve efficiency, safety, or sustainability.

These reactors are designed to address challenges like waste reduction, higher temperatures, operational safety, and advanced fuel cycles.

However, the company is still waiting for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to approve its construction permit and give the go-ahead for its design, so it can only work on the non-nuclear site features for now.

Originally slated for 2028, Russia's invasion of Ukraine pushed back the timeline of the Kemmerer reactor by two years.

Russia is the world's only commercial source of HALEU (high-assay, low-enriched uranium fuel). Since the Ukraine invasion, the U.S. Department of Energy has enacted measures to support the domestic production of nuclear fuel, though it will take time.

The project is now expected to be completed and begin operations in 2030.

The project has also received support from the government. The U.S. Department of Energy has committed to match 50% of the project costs (up to $2 billion) for the licensing, construction, and demonstration of TerraPower's reactor.

In addition to its Wyoming facility, TerraPower has signed an agreement with the UAE's nuclear energy department organization that would allow it to buy hundreds of reactors from TerraPower, if it so chooses.

How much is TerraPower worth?

According to data from DealRoom, TerraPower has raised just over $1 billion from 13 investors over seven rounds since being founded in 2006.

However, this amount may not include all of Bill Gates' investments in the startup. He has stated publicly that he's invested over a billion and said he will “put in billions more.”

Gates co-led the company's most recent round, which closed in November 2022. The round raised a total of $830 million in two parts: an initial $750 million in August and another $80 million in November.

The round — which included SK Innovation (KRX: 096770), ArcelorMittal (MT), and Korea Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering (KRX: 009540) as investors — valued the company at $3.8 billion.