Nuclear power beyond electricity — bringing nuclear power to Earth and the Moon
Confirmed by founderThe Earthineering Company is developing the Kaon Reactor, a helium-cooled, TRISO-fueled nuclear reactor designed from the ground up to deliver high-temperature heat rather than electricity. With an exceptional power-to-weight ratio of 175 kW/ton, the Kaon Reactor is purpose-built for lunar base operations and terrestrial industrial applications. On the path to the Moon, Earthineering is targeting trillion-dollar markets including synthetic hydrocarbon fuel production, forward-deployable military fuel (JP-5, F-76, Jet-A), and critical mineral processing. The company is pursuing partnerships with NASA, the Department of Defense, and major aerospace contractors including Lockheed Martin, Boeing, SpaceX, and Blue Origin, while planning a first-of-a-kind demonstration reactor at Idaho National Laboratory.
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Kevin Hickerson
founder
david-blau
other
bryan-smith
other
Building a lunar base requires massive amounts of energy for warmth, oxygen, water, and rocket fuel extraction — but traditional space energy sources like solar are too heavy, costing $60M+ per ton to launch. On Earth, refining strategic critical minerals and producing synthetic fuels demands new energy infrastructure that current sources cannot cost-effectively provide.
The Kaon Reactor delivers sustained nuclear thermal energy 7x lighter than nuclear electric and 250x more power-dense than lunar solar — making it the only cost-feasible energy source for permanent lunar operations. Factory-built for rapid deployment, it operates without water cooling and uses passive TRISO fuel safety systems, enabling installation in remote terrestrial sites and extraterrestrial environments alike. On Earth, it generates revenue today by supplying process heat for synthetic fuel production and critical mineral refining, funding the path to lunar deployment.
Earthineering has built early traction across team, advisors, capital, partnerships, and product definition. We have raised a $200,000 pre-seed round and joined Capital Factory All Access as we prepare our next financing round. We have assembled a hard-tech team built for execution: Dr. Kevin Hickerson, a Caltech- and Los Alamos-trained nuclear physicist and repeat hard-tech founder; David Blau, Esq., Chief Legal Officer and deep-tech patent strategist; Dr. Bryan Smith, CTO and Caltech PhD with deep AI/ML and startup experience; plus finance, business development, communications, and public affairs support. We are also supported by major advisors, including Prof. Hakeem Oluseyi, astrophysicist and former NASA Headquarters Science Mission Directorate education manager, and Dr. Robert Zubrin, founder of The Mars Society and a leading architect of in-situ resource utilization strategy. In 2026, we defined the Kaon Reactor platform and developed a digital-twin-validation-ready reactor design: a factory-built, helium-cooled, TRISO-powered, very-high-temperature nuclear heat system designed for lunar oxygen, water, rocket fuel, critical minerals, synthetic fuels, and industrial process heat. We are building partnerships across national labs, aerospace, defense, airlines, industrial heat customers, and lunar infrastructure, including paths tied to INL demonstration infrastructure, NASA/defense opportunities, synthetic fuel offtake, process heat demand, and forward-deployable fuel production.