Newcleo, the Italian-French startup specializing in modular and advanced nuclear reactors, will soon be listed on the US Nasdaq market, much larger than the Italian one and more open to atomic energy: not surprisingly, it was also chosen by another Italian startup of mini nuclear plants, Terra Innovatum, which was listed there last October.
FORECASTS ON CAPITAL RAISING AND VALUATION
Newcleo’s entry on Nasdaq is expected in the second half of 2026 and will take place through a merger with the vehicle NewHold Investment Corp III. The operation should allow the company – founded by Italian physicist Stefano Buono, but based in Paris – to raise up to 429 million dollars and reach a valuation of 2.4 billion.
“The capital raised, combined with access to public markets, will allow us to rapidly advance our reactor manufacturing capabilities and fuel production in Europe and the United States,” Buono said.
Terra Innovatum had already been listed on Nasdaq following a combination with a corporate vehicle, Gsr III.
HOW IS NEWCLEO’S FINANCIAL STATEMENT?
Newcleo indeed needs capital because its financial statement is in the red: in 2024 revenues amounted to 80 million dollars and net losses to 110 million, a situation that led PwC’s auditors to highlight the “substantial uncertainty” about business continuity. On the other hand, Newcleo’s condition is similar to that of many other innovative startups – even OpenAi, for example, is in loss – which have to invest in research and development in view of commercializing their technologies. In this regard, Newcleo’s first reactor should be ready in 2032.
From 2021 (the year of its foundation) to today, Buono’s company has raised over 780 million dollars. The Nasdaq operation, net of fees, should guarantee an entry in the accounts of about 370 million: a “significant amount,” wrote Il Sole 24 Ore, “but still below the 3-4 billion indicated by management as the budget to reach breakeven,” that is, to break even with expenses.
TECHNOLOGY AND INVESTORS
Newcleo has developed a nuclear technology different from those currently on the market. The startup is indeed dedicated to designing small modular reactors (small size, theoretically faster and cheaper to build) cooled with molten lead (which allows generating high heat, usable for purposes other than electricity) and fueled with reprocessed waste fuel (in a circular economy perspective).
Among the Italian investors are:
- Exor, the holding company led by John Elkann that controls Stellantis;
- the industrial components company Walter Tosto;
- Danieli, the steel company controlled by the Benedetti family;
- the cement and concrete producer Cementir Holding, part of the Caltagirone group;
- the valve manufacturer for petrochemical plants Orion Valves, linked to the Farina family;
- NextChem, the sustainable technologies company controlled by Maire, which in turn is headed by Fabrizio Di Amato;
- the Italian venture capital funds Kairos and Indaco;
- the Milan-based asset management group Azimut.
CRITICISMS FROM THE MEF
Newcleo’s choice to list on the US stock exchange was not appreciated by Federico Freni, undersecretary at the Ministry of Economy and member of the Lega party. “Evidently,” he said, the startup’s managers “have not yet properly looked at the Tuf reform and have not seen, since they certainly capitalize less than 1 billion euros, that they could easily benefit from the new facilitated regime for the new listing which is much simpler than the American regime.”
About a year ago the government – pushed by the Ministers of Enterprises Adolfo Urso and Environment Gilberto Pichetto – was considering an investment of 200 million euros in Newcleo to secure a 10 percent stake in the capital. But the idea was not liked by the Ministry of Economy, led by the Lega’s Giancarlo Giorgetti, nor by Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, secretary of the Lega. Referring to the public entry into Newcleo, Salvini declared as follows: “However, I read about public money influences in private companies. If there is a public trust with Enel, Ansaldo and Leonardo I don’t understand why put hundreds of millions of euros into the private sector and not in a publicly owned company.”
