Valar Watch · Fact ppl-015

Fact ppl-015

newrecordconfirmed What became of the leaders' earlier reactor ventures: South Africa's PBMR shut in 2010; Ultra Safe Nuclear went bankrupt

2024-12-18 · ppl-015 · Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (Pty) Ltd, Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation, NANO Nuclear Energy, Mark Mitchell, Willem Kriel, Valar Atomics · price NANO Nuclear agreed to pay for USNC reactor technology in bankruptcy: $8,500,000; approximate spending on South Africa PBMR, 2000s (ZAR 9.244 billion): $1,300,000,000

Valar's senior nuclear hires come from two helium-cooled, TRISO-fuel reactor ventures that did not build a power reactor. (1) Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR), South Africa, where, per Valar's release, Mark Mitchell's nuclear career began, and on which a same-named Willem Kriel co-wrote a 2006 paper (ppl-003, ppl-007): World Nuclear News (20 Sept 2010) reported the government had decided 'no longer to invest' after about ZAR 9.2 billion (about $1.3 billion) over a decade, mostly public money, having found no anchor customer or investment partner and facing at least ZAR 30 billion more in costs and repeated missed deadlines; the project went into care and maintenance. The minister said the validity of the pebble-bed technology itself was not in doubt. (2) Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation (USNC), where Mitchell established and led the Micro Modular Reactor program and, per Deseret News and the Sept 2025 OED/Valar release, served as president (ppl-003): Nano Nuclear Energy announced on 24 Dec 2024 that it would buy USNC's MMR and Pylon reactor technology and related partnerships for $8.5 million in cash, through a court-supervised auction in USNC's pending Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, approved on 18 Dec 2024; the release describes the MMR system as still 'under development'. Mitchell's move to Valar was announced in April 2024, about eight months before the court approved that sale. None of this is a finding against any individual; it is the track record of the programs.

In plain termsValar's experienced nuclear leadership comes from two earlier projects using the same kind of reactor. Neither got to a working power plant: South Africa's government stopped funding one after about $1.3 billion had been spent, while saying the technology itself was sound, and the other went bankrupt and its designs were sold for $8.5 million. That history shows how hard this technology has been to turn into a business, which is useful context when Valar promises thousands of reactors.

Government drops final curtain on PBMR (World Nuclear News, 2010-09-20) news “no longer to invest”
NANO Nuclear Energy Enters into Agreement to Acquire Ultra Safe Nuclear Corp.'s Patented Micro Modular Reactor MMR and Pylon Space Reactors for $8.5 Million (NANO Nuclear Energy Inc., 2024-12-24) primary company “in connection with USNC’s pending Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings”
Who is Valar Atomics? (Eric Peterson) (The Utah Investigative Journalism Project, 2025-07-08) news “went bankrupt last year and sold its intellectual property to another company”

verified 2026-09-29: Re-read World Nuclear News (20 Sep 2010), NANO Nuclear's release (dated 24 Dec 2024) and UIJP. Holds. Fixed: the Kriel-PBMR link is a name match only; added the minister's statement that the technology was not in doubt (balance) and NANO's 'under development' to support 'did not build a power reactor'; 'shut down by the government' in plain replaced with 'stopped funding'.

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