Participated · Series A · Mar 2025

Thorizon is a Franco‑Dutch startup developing the Thorizon One, a molten‑salt small modular reactor. The company is based in Lyon and Amsterdam and employs about 50 people. Thorizon leads the ZILT consortium, which aims to advance its reactor design and support decarbonization of Zeeland industry. Consortium partners include EPZ (operator of the Borssele plant), Schelde Exotech, Delmeco, HZ University of Applied Sciences and Scalda. The project received a €10 million award from the EU Just Transition Fund to help lay the groundwork for the first molten salt reactor in the Netherlands. Thorizon has been named a laureate of the France 2030 investment plan for innovative nuclear reactors and has partnered with Orano, Tractebel and EDF to progress its design. Thorizon is an Amsterdam-based deep-tech startup developing a walk-away safe molten salt reactor that uses long-lived nuclear waste as fuel. Led by CEO Kiki Lauwers and originally a spin-off from NRG, the company is developing an advanced small modular reactor called Thorizon One and is working on reactor design and system prototypes. It plans to begin constructing its first reactor, Thorizon One, around 2030 and intends to use the new funds to accelerate development. The recent financing included €16M as the first tranche of a Series A led by Invest‑NL (backed by an InvestEU guarantee from the European Commission) and a €4M grant from the Dutch Province of Noord‑Brabant in consortium with VDL Groep and Demcon. Thorizon collaborates with Orano, Tractebel, VDL, and EDF, and its project has been selected by the European Commission and the French government under the France 2030 investment plan. The company also has offices in Lyon, France, and has previously received a €10M grant from France 2030 in 2024; including its first equity round, it has raised €42.5M to date. Thorizon is an Amsterdam-based spin-off from the Nuclear Research and Consultancy Group (NRG) developing modular molten salt reactors that transform long-lived nuclear waste into carbon-free energy. Its core product, the Thorizon One, uses multiple fully enclosed, replaceable cartridges in the reactor core to reduce long-lived radioactive waste and allow use of materials that do not need to withstand corrosion for decades. The design runs molten salt at high temperatures under low pressure, which the company says prevents leakage and creates a ‘walk-away safe’ facility. Thorizon received a €10M grant from the French government under the France 2030 program and will use the subsidy to accelerate development and business development efforts while accessing nuclear research and regulatory expertise. The company is partnering with Orano, CEA, Oakridge, Tractebel, NRGIPALLAS and Differ to develop a sustainable, cost-effective modular facility and plans to establish a presence in France to collaborate on recycling nuclear materials into new fuel. Founded in 2018 by Sander de Groot and Lucas Pool, Thorizon aims for rapid realisation of its reactor, targeting 250MW output and enough clean energy for 250,000 households. Thorizon develops a new generation of molten salt nuclear reactors intended to use long-lived waste in combination with thorium as fuel. The company is a spin-off from the Nuclear Research and consultancy Group (NRG) and is led by founder Lucas Pool. It raised €12.5m to advance development, perform essential tests and research, and complete the design of a first prototype. Thorizon plans close collaboration with industrial and research partners including Orano, NRG, EPZ, TU Delft and DIFFER. The company is investigating the possibility of realising a first system on EPZ’s Borssele site and aims to deliver a first reactor system before 2035.

Led · Equity · Oct 2023

Circular Industries (CI) develops the Urban Mining Factory – Printed Circuit Boards (UMF-PCB) to maximise recovery of critical raw materials from end-of-life printed circuit boards. The company emphasises circularity and reducing the EU’s dependence on external suppliers to strengthen supply-chain and geopolitical independence. CI was founded in 2014 by Niels Wagemaker and Martin van Zanten and is currently led by CEO Jan Hoenselaar. The firm says the €2M early-stage funding will enable construction of its first Urban Mining Factory, with significant support from a major Dutch bank. CI plans to complete the project validation phase mid‑2024 and from early 2024 will begin concretising discussions with financiers for UMF‑PCB financing. Investors also highlighted CI’s patented process and the project’s alignment with the energy transition and sustainability goals.