Meta Natrium #1

Executive Overview

Meta Natrium #1 is a 345 MW advanced nuclear power plant under development in New Albany, Ohio, based on TerraPower's Natrium reactor design. The project is one of two initial Natrium units being developed as part of a broader agreement between Meta and TerraPower, announced in January 2026, under which Meta has secured rights to energy from up to eight Natrium units totalling 2.8 GW of baseload capacity. Power delivery from the first units is targeted for as early as 2032. The project is part of Meta's strategy to secure up to 6.6 GW of clean, firm power for its U.S. data center and AI infrastructure by 2035.

How It Works & Differentiation

The Natrium reactor is a sodium-cooled fast reactor paired with a molten salt energy storage system, which allows each 345 MW baseload unit to ramp up to 500 MW of output for more than five hours using stored thermal energy. A dual-unit configuration can deliver 690 MW of firm power and up to 1 GW of dispatchable electricity, providing flexibility that conventional nuclear cannot match. TerraPower's Natrium design is the only commercial advanced nuclear technology to have completed an Environmental Impact Statement and advanced to a construction permit application pending with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. TerraPower was founded by Bill Gates and others, and its first commercial-scale Natrium project at Kemmerer, Wyoming, is expected to be complete in 2030, providing a direct operational precedent for the Meta units.

Commercialization & Traction

Meta has signed 20-year power agreements with TerraPower, and is funding early development activities for the first two Natrium units, with options on six further units. The deal follows Meta's 2025 agreement with Constellation Energy to extend the life of a nuclear plant in Clinton, Illinois, and is part of a wider package that also includes agreements with Oklo (up to 1.2 GW in Ohio) and Vistra (more than 2.1 GW from existing Ohio and Pennsylvania plants). Meta is now described as one of the largest corporate purchasers of nuclear energy in U.S. history. The announcement drove Oklo's share price up nearly 20% and Vistra's up approximately 8% in premarket trading, reflecting market confidence in the commercial structure.

Scalability & Strategic Context

The TerraPower-Meta agreement is structured for expansion, with Meta holding rights to six additional Natrium units beyond the initial two, and TerraPower's modular design enabling replication across multiple sites. The Kemmerer project, once operational in 2030, will establish the operational and regulatory template for all subsequent deployments, including the Ohio units. Meta and its partners have added nearly 28 GW of new energy across 27 U.S. states over the past decade, and this nuclear programme represents the next phase of that buildout. The Natrium design's integrated storage capability also positions it as a firm power complement to variable renewables on regional grids, beyond its primary function of serving Meta's load.