Bluecore Energy, a maritime nuclear energy startup founded by former Uber Freight employee Kofi Asante, has raised $10M in pre-seed funding led by Slauson & Co. The company is building small modular nuclear reactors on floating barges to provide clean power to ports and surrounding infrastructure.
The reactors heat water and transfer steam to a generator that spins a turbine to produce electricity. The barges can be moved by ship, reducing transport emissions to zero. Each barge needs refueling only once every few years and can power the equivalent of about 15,000 homes or a major port.
Bluecore has already secured a port terminal, barge, and test reactor pressure vessel. Asante said the test vessel simulates water flow, which is the cooling source. The team is working with regulatory agencies to embed safety into every design layer.
Asante sees AI data centers as a major use case. Data center executives told him they would not need to pull water or energy from local communities if they had their own electricity source at sea. Other investors include Harlem Capital, Precursor Ventures, Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen, and Kevin Hart’s HartBeat Ventures.
