Valar's joint release with Los Alamos (18 Nov 2025) divides the work: Valar supplied the reactor core, the TRISO fuel and the system configuration; Los Alamos's National Criticality Experiments Research Center supplied the critical assembly, the facility safety envelope, experimentalists, instruments, the experiment platform and reflectors, data analysis and validation oversight, under the oversight of NNSA's Nevada Field Office. The release adds that the center is 'funded and managed by the National Nuclear Security Administration' for DOE, and quotes DOE's deputy assistant secretary for nuclear reactors on 'leveraging all DOE capabilities' for the pilot program. ANS Nuclear Newswire's report describes the same split. Neither names the agreement type (for example a cooperative research agreement, in which costs can be shared, or a fully reimbursed 'strategic partnership project') or says who paid for the lab's time. No NOVA-related award appears on USAspending (fund-011). The NOVA result is one of the 'firsts' Valar used in its Series B pitch (fund-007, orig-047).

• Los Alamos National Laboratory and Valar Atomics Announce Project NOVA Criticality Milestone in Nevada (Valar Atomics / LANL, 2025-11-18) primary company “Valar Atomics provided the reactor core, TRISO fuel, and system configuration.”
• Valar achieves cold criticality at LANL (American Nuclear Society, Nuclear Newswire, 2025-11-18) news “Valar provided the reactor core, system configuration, and the TRISO fuel itself.”
• USAspending award search, recipient 'VALAR ATOMICS', every award-type group (contracts, IDVs, grants, loans, direct payments, other), FY2008 to Sept 30, 2026 (run 2026-09-29; one result, $0) (USAspending.gov (U.S. Department of the Treasury)) primary government