California-based start-up Valar Atomics has proposed an ambitious project called Project Beehive, which aims to build a massive nuclear-powered AI data centre across roughly 9,000 acres of public and state land near Price in Utah.
The proposal features 456 small, high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs) acting like “nuclear batteries”. In aggregate, the reactors are projected to generate 9.6 GWe – more than double the entire state of Utah’s average power generation of about 4 GWe. Beyond the AI data centres and reactors, the industrial campus would feature an on-site nuclear fuel production facility and dedicated nuclear waste storage.
Valar Atomics aims to begin non-nuclear construction by the end of 2026, targeting the first operational reactors by 2028 and full completion by 2032. The project is currently a proposal and is not yet fully approved. However, in September, the Utah Trust Lands Administration unanimously voted to approve a lease for 640 acres of state trust land. The remaining thousands of acres fall under federal jurisdiction and are currently under review by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which will eventually open the project up for public comment.
Valar’s Ward 250 test microreactor, located at the Utah San Rafael Energy Lab (USREL), in Emery County, reached zero-power criticality in June, becoming the second DOE-authorised reactor built outside a national laboratory. Less than two weeks later, the reactor generated its first electricity. Valar used that power to run one of Nvidia’s Blackwell chips during a live showcase.
Ward 250 100kWt is a HTGR design that uses TRISO (Tristructural Isotropic) fuel, helium coolant and graphite moderators. When fully operational, it is designed to scale up to 5 MWe. Valar began ground-breaking for the reactor and the on-site TRISO fuel fabrication facility at USREL in September 2025.
Valar Atomics, founded in 2023, emerged from stealth in February 2025. It was one of 11 companies selected in June 2025 by the US Department of Energy (DOE) for its Reactor Pilot Program (RPP) and was also one of four companies selected by DOE in September 2025 to take part in its Fuel Line Pilot Program. Using DOE authorisation, Valar completely bypassed the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) significantly accelerating progress. In August, Valar raised $1bn in a Series B funding round, pushing its valuation to $6bn.
