Borusan Ventures invests in Bluecore Energy, a developer of offshore nuclear energy systems

Borusan Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of the Borusan Group, has participated in a $50 million seed funding round for Bluecore Energy, a US-based company developing small modular reactors for ports, coastal industrial facilities, and data centers.
 

Borusan Ventures continues its investments in emerging energy technologies by backing Bluecore Energy. The $50 million funding round was led by Silverton Partners and included participation from Borusan Ventures, alongside Slauson & Co, Harlem Capital Partners, Precursor Ventures, LMNT Ventures, and various other venture capital firms and angel investors. Bluecore, which develops modular nuclear reactors for floating platforms, aims to provide a continuous, low-carbon energy supply in regions where the electrical grid is unable to meet growing demand. Defne Kocabıyık Narter: “We support ventures that shape the future of energy”

Defne Kocabıyık Narter: “We support ventures that are shaping the future of energy”

Defne Kocabıyık Narter, Founder and President of Borusan Ventures, said the following about the investment: "The transformation of the industry and the spread of artificial intelligence increases the need for reliable and low-carbon energy. We closely follow different technologies that can meet this need, and we support initiatives that offer new opportunities in accessing energy. Bluecore offers a new approach that brings energy directly to the points where it is needed by combining the nuclear reactor technology, which has been used for many years, with the maritime infrastructure. Borusan Group's industrial experience and global business network enable the use of such technologies." We believe that it is a valuable resource for its development. We see our Bluecore investment as a part of our approach to monitoring the transformation in the energy field at an early stage and taking part in this transformation.”

Kofi Asante, Founder and CEO of Bluecore Energy, described the company’s approach as follows: “We are leveraging water-cooled nuclear reactor technology, which has been in use for over 70 years. Our team is adapting this technology to a smaller scale and mounting it onto a barge. We believe that by mass-producing small modular reactors which can be rapidly deployed in aquatic environments we can bring clean energy to a much broader audience.”

Silicon Valley-based Borusan Ventures invests in early-stage startups in areas such as energy, mobility, logistics, supply chain and industrial technologies in the USA and Europe. Drawing on Borusan Group's 82 years of industrial experience, Borusan Ventures provides strategic support to initiatives that aim for global success and long-term impact, and creates growth opportunities by providing access to new markets.

Uninterrupted energy that can be transported to wherever it is needed

The system developed by Bluecore is based on positioning small modular reactors on floating platforms such as barges. Thus, energy production units can be transported by sea to the areas where they are needed and are docked to the shore to provide electricity. The first system is expected to produce approximately 10 megawatts of uninterrupted power and be able to operate for years without requiring refueling. According to the increasing electricity needs of the facilities, the capacity can be increased by adding new units.

The initiative’s primary targets include ports, coastal industrial facilities, and artificial intelligence data centers. This approach aims to provide facilities that require large, uninterrupted supplies of electricity with their own energy sources, while simultaneously easing the demand pressure on surrounding power grids. In the longer term, Bluecore also intends to supply energy to cargo ships.

The Port of Long Beach in the United States will serve as the initial deployment site for the technology developed by Bluecore. Having transported its first barge and test reactor to the port, the company is currently conducting engineering and testing activities there. With the demand for electricity at the Port of Long Beach expected to rise significantly in the coming years driven by the electrification of cargo-handling equipment and other port operations, the port serves as a key starting point for the development and scaling of Bluecore’s offshore nuclear energy system under real-world operational conditions.