Italy-based nuclear start-up Terra Innovatum Global has signed a commercial letter of intent (LOI) with Waiken ILW to deploy its SOLO micro-modular reactor (MMR) to support the broadcasting data centres in Argentina and Brazil. Waiken ILW is a leading technomedia group that brings together companies delivering innovative solutions for consumers and businesses across Latin America and the Caribbean.
Waiken ILW has selected the SOLO MMR platform for initial deployment supporting the data centre infrastructure of DIRECTV Latin America and SKY Brasil (Jaguariúna covering up to 8 MWe of behind-the-meter generating capacity. While the broader technology landscape focuses on nuclear energy for hyperscale AI systems, this partnership looks to the commercial viability of microreactors for core telecommunications and media infrastructure.
This is Terra Innovatum’s first commercial initiative in Latin America. However, in September 2025, Terra Innovatum signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Argentina’s Conuar for the supply of critical components to be used in the production of the SOLO MMR.
The SOLO MMR is a 1 MWe (5 MWt) high-temperature, gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) designed for autonomous, off-grid operation. Its primary technological innovation is a “rule of precedent” approach, utilising commercially available, pre-licensed components to bypass typical regulatory delays. It uses helium gas as a coolant and a solid heterogeneous composite moderator.
SOLO was conceptualised in 2018 and the design was developed over six years. It will be built from readily available commercial off-the-shelf components simplifying the licensing path to enable rapid deployment, minimising supply chain risks, and ensuring final cost predictability.
It is designed to use standard low-enriched uranium (LEU) UO2 pellets in Zircaloy cladding but is future-proofed to accept LEU+ and high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) fuels when they become commercially available. It can operate for 15 years without refuelling (extendable to 45 years via core swap) and fits in a standard 40ft shipping container. Its 2.5-metre-thick concrete biological shield reduces the radiation dose to below public limits, eliminating the need for a large emergency planning zone.
“This initiative aims to provide reliable, behind-the-meter clean energy solutions for Waiken ILW’s data centres while serving as a proof of concept for other long-term, energy-intensive operations within the Waiken ILW group of companies,” said Alessandro Petruzzi, Co-Founder & CEO at Terra Innovatum Global. “Critical communications infrastructure demands uninterrupted, resilient power. We believe this agreement demonstrates the growing commercial opportunity for behind-the-meter nuclear energy beyond AI data centers, extending into media, telecommunications and other critical infrastructure sectors.”
Giordano Morichi, a founding partner of Terra Innovatum, Chief Business Development Officer and Director of Investor Relations noted: “This strategic collaboration with Waiken ILW highlights the commercial strength of our global supply chain and the versatility of our SOLO technology. The agreement demonstrates that SOLO is not designed for a single market, rather it is a platform that can scale across multiple industries and geographies, including telecommunications, cloud infrastructure and data centres, financial services, healthcare, industrial facilities and other mission-critical operations.”
Carlos Magariños, Chief of Global and Regulatory Strategy at Waiken ILW, explained: “We partner with Terra Innovatum Global to drive a forward-looking energy strategy that reinforces our long-standing commitment to innovation, sustainability, and technological excellence across all our companies and partners. This alliance will strengthen our infrastructure by delivering reliable, behind-the-meter clean energy to DIRECTV’s and SKY’s broadcasting data centres, paving the way for a cleaner, more resilient, and self-sustaining energy future across Argentina, Brazil, and the broader region.”
Terra Innovatum is pursuing an accelerated regulatory and deployment roadmap for the SOLO MMR targeting full global commercialisation by 2028.The primary licensing pathway is being conducted through the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).
In 2025, Terra Innovatum submitted and received NRC acceptance for the Principal Design Criteria (PDC) topical report. It initiated Core Design presentations and began drafting the Environmental Report for the First-of-a-Kind (FOAK) deployment site.
A Phenomenon Identification and Ranking Table (PIRT) was submitted in February to lock in safety analysis methods. NRC requires a PIRT before approving any new, non-traditional reactor design. Completing the PIRT means Terra Innovatum has legally defined the safety boundaries of its reactor, clearing the way for the NRC’s formal technical review.
In March, NRC docketed Terra Innovatum’s key Topical Reports, kicking off the formal safety review. NRC is expected to complete its formal Safety Evaluation (SE) of the core Topical Reports by October Terra Innovatum intends to submit its Preliminary Safety Analysis Report (PSAR) and initiate operating licence application steps by the end of the year.
In 2027, Terra Innovatum is hoping for NRC approval of its Construction Permit enabling delivery of the FOAK SOLO reactor unit directly to the deployment site. Operating Licence Approval is also anticipate allowing the first SOLO reactor module to go critical and begin generating power on-site.
Anticipating final Commercial License Approval, Terra Innovatum is targeting commercial rollout of mass-produced, factory-built fleet units for global data centre infrastructure and industrial applications in 2028. The aggressive 2027/2028 deployment target relies on four distinct factors:
- Eliminating exotic fuel qualification: most new small modular reactors (SMRs) require HALEU, which currently faces global supply bottlenecks. SOLO utilises standard LEU/LEU+ configured into traditional zircaloy-clad fuel rods, allowing Terra Innovatum to skip the lengthy 5-10-year fuel qualification testing phase usually mandated by regulators.
- Off-the-shelf manufacturing: the SOLO platform is built from commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components and the procurement pathways have been finalised with established industrial vendors such as Howden (steam turbines) and ATB (heavy component manufacturing).
- A pre-approved siting location; Terra Innovatum signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Rock City Admiral Parkway Development in July 2025 which was amended and restated the following September. The site is explicitly designated to host a FOAK) unit, with environmental reviews and community siting frameworks being processed in tandem with the reactor’s design review.
- Regulatory de-risking via Topical Reports: Instead of submitting a complete reactor application all at once, which can take years to process, Terra Innovatum is adopting a staged licensing approach. Getting individual, bite-sized Topical Reports (such as their core design, safety methods, and principal criteria) pre-approved throughout 2026 significantly reduces the risk of unexpected obstacles when the final Construction Permit is evaluated in 2027.
However, while the company has tried to engineer away typical physics and supply chain hurdles, the timeline remains at the mercy of regulatory progress. If NRC experiences backlogs or extends its safety evaluation past October 2026, a slip into 2029 or 2030 is highly probable.
