Tuesday, 14 July 2026

Aalo Atomics' Aalo-X Critical Test Reactor, dubbed Project First Light, has reached criticality at Idaho National Laboratory, according to Power Magazine.

The U.S. Department of Energy announced the criticality on July 6, Power Magazine reported.

The milestone marks the fourth DOE-authorized advanced reactor startup under the federal push to accelerate reactor testing and demonstration, according to Power Magazine.

Proxima Fusion completed a EUR 411 million (USD 468 million) funding round, according to Power Magazine.

The Munich, Germany-based group is considered among the leading European companies working on fusion energy, according to Power Magazine.

Proxima said on July 7 that investors in the round included Google and RWE, according to Power Magazine.

Proxima Fusion raised EUR 411 million (USD 469 million) in a new funding round backed by investors including RWE AG and Alphabet's Google, according to Neutron Bytes. The German startup plans to develop a nuclear fusion plant it aims to bring online in the 2030s.

XTX Ventures, the investment arm of Alex Gerko's algorithmic trading firm XTX Markets Ltd, led the round alongside London-based East X Ventures, Neutron Bytes reported.

Proxima now carries a valuation of EUR 2.4 billion following the round, according to a statement by the company cited by Neutron Bytes.

The firm has secured more than EUR 650 million to date, including EUR 95 million in public grants, Neutron Bytes reported. Proxima last raised funds in a EUR 130 million round in 2025.

Proxima spun out of the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in 2023 to build a first generation of fusion power plants using QI-HTS stellarators, according to Neutron Bytes.

The company's Alpha net-energy-gain demonstration stellarator is scheduled to begin operational testing in 2031 near Garching, Germany, Neutron Bytes reported.

Ahead of that, Proxima plans to complete its Stellarator Model Coil in 2027, according to Neutron Bytes. The standalone component prototype is designed to validate and de-risk high-temperature superconductor (HTS) magnet technology and heat management systems under laboratory conditions before they are integrated into a full-scale reactor.

newcleo filed a Form F-4 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on July 6, 2026, tied to its proposed business combination with NewHold Investment Corp. III, according to a GlobeNewswire release. The two companies signed the business combination agreement on May 27, 2026.

The merged entity will operate as newcleo plc and is expected to list on The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC under the ticker NWCL.

The deal is expected to provide up to USD 429 million in gross proceeds to newcleo, made up of USD 220 million in PIPE proceeds and up to USD 209 million of cash held in the NewHold trust account, before redemptions and transaction expenses, per the release.

newcleo reported over USD 80 million in revenue, other income and financial income in 2024, more than USD 780 million in private funding, and over 900 employees across Europe and the United States.

The company is developing advanced modular lead-cooled fast reactors that run on mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel made from reprocessed nuclear waste and nuclear materials.

The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2026, subject to NewHold shareholder approval, the SEC declaring the registration statement effective, and other customary closing conditions.