DeepTech startup Thorizon, an Amsterdam-based innovator in molten salt reactor technology, has secured €20 million to accelerate the development of its advanced small modular reactor, Thorizon One.
This includes €16 million as the first tranche of its Series A round, led by the Dutch National Promotional Institution, Invest-NL, backed by an InvestEU guarantee from the European Commission for the research part, with strong backing from Positron Ventures, PDENH, and Impuls Zeeland.
“With strong support from our investors and government partners, we are in a solid position to advance the development of Thorizon One,” said Kiki Lauwers, CEO of Thorizon. “Our mission is to drive nuclear innovation in Europe—enhancing energy security while reducing carbon emissions and burning long-lived nuclear waste. We welcome new strategic partners to join us in making Europe’s first molten salt reactor a reality.”
Thorizon was founded in 2018 by Lucas Pool and Sander de Groot as a spin-off from NRG, the national nuclear research institute of the Netherlands.
The company sees small modular nuclear reactors as an ideal, stable, and clean complement to an energy system increasingly reliant on wind and solar power. Thorizon is developing a “walk-away safe” molten salt reactor that uses long-lived nuclear waste as fuel, taking a step toward circularity.
The company is working on reactor design and system prototypes, with plans to begin constructing its first reactor, Thorizon One, around 2030. Thorizon collaborates with industry leaders such as Orano, Tractebel, VDL, and EDF, and its project has been selected by the European Commission and the French government under the France 2030 investment plan.
Thorizon also recently secured an additional €4 million grant from the Dutch Province of Noord-Brabant in consortium with VDL Groep and Demcon. The recent investments follow an earlier €10 million grant from the France 2030 Innovative Reactor Programme of the French government in 2024. In total, including its first equity round, Thorizon has raised €42.5 million to drive the commercialization of its innovative reactor technology.
This funding milestone brings Thorizon halfway to its Series A target, with a focus on attracting European investors to strengthen Europe’s energy security and leadership in nuclear innovation.
The capital will drive the prototyping and demonstration of Thorizon One’s “groundbreaking” cartridge fuel system, designed to safely and cost-effectively generate power by recycling nuclear waste. Additionally, Thorizon will finalise the reactor’s basic design, advance licensing, and prototype key components as it progresses toward starting construction in 2030.
“We are excited to support Thorizon as it enters the next phase, building and testing the first non-nuclear cartridges for its modular molten salt reactor,” said Reda Atibi, Senior Investment Manager at Invest-NL. “Since our initial investment in 2022, the team has grown, strengthened its expertise, and made significant technological strides. Collaboration with Dutch and French regulators has intensified, and key partnerships have been formed to accelerate development. These achievements have reinforced our confidence in Thorizon, leading us to spearhead this investment round. We believe this step supports a scalable, zero-carbon energy solution essential for Europe’s energy independence.”
With this funding, Thorizon is advancing the development of the Thorizon One, a next-generation reactor that “overcomes all traditional reservations against nuclear energy“.
The Thorizon One is engineered to deliver carbon-free energy while repurposing long-lived nuclear waste as fuel. Its modular design and cartridge-based fuel system provide a scalable pathway to a circular nuclear economy. By harnessing molten salt technology, Thorizon aims to develop reactors that are inherently safe, cost-efficient, and faster to deploy than conventional nuclear plants—offering a practical solution to Europe’s clean energy transition.
Thorizon has laid a strong foundation for advancing its molten salt reactor technology, securing funding through equity and grants while building a team of 50 engineers across Amsterdam and Lyon.