nT-Tao and Orion Nuclear Energy Corporation Announce Strategic Collaboration to Bring Compact Fusion Power to U.S. Data Centers and Critical Infrastructure

Partnership pairs nT-Tao's Compact Fusion System with Orion's U.S. project development expertise to pursue the growing power demands of data centers, industrial facilities, and other high-load users

TEL AVIV, Israel and ALEXANDRIA, Va. and HOUSTON, Sept. 21, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- nT-Tao, an Israeli compact fusion energy company, and Orion Nuclear Energy Corporation, a U.S. developer of advanced nuclear power projects, today announced a strategic collaboration to identify, evaluate, and develop deployment opportunities for nT-Tao's Compact Fusion System across the United States. The companies have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) establishing a framework to bring the technology to market alongside Orion's U.S. project development and commercialization capabilities.

The collaboration comes as data centers, industrial facilities, and other high-load users increasingly strain the U.S. power grid, driving demand for new sources of reliable, continuous, and scalable clean energy that can be sited close to where it is needed. Advanced nuclear and fusion technologies have drawn growing interest from developers and large power users looking for options beyond traditional grid buildout, and the collaboration between nT-Tao and Orion is aimed at helping bring one such technology from development toward real-world deployment in the U.S. market.

At the core of the collaboration is nT-Tao's Compact Fusion System, a compact, on-site fusion power system designed to deliver up to 20 megawatts of continuous, clean electricity from a footprint small enough to be sited directly at a customer's facility rather than requiring a large centralized plant. The system is built on nT-Tao's established MEGA (Modular Energy Generator Architecture) pulsed-power platform and is engineered for manufacturability and scalable deployment, positioning it as a potential fit for the always-on, high-density power needs of data centers and other high-load industrial users.

Under the MoU, Orion will act as a U.S. project development and commercialization partner, supporting the identification of potential customers and power offtakers, evaluating project sites, structuring financing, and engaging with utilities, infrastructure providers, and relevant regulators. nT-Tao will serve as the technology provider, contributing system design, performance data, development roadmap, and deployment expertise for the Compact Fusion System. Following the signing, the companies plan to work toward identifying a limited number of initial U.S. opportunities for further evaluation.

"AI-driven data centers and other high-load industries are running into real limits on how quickly and reliably they can secure new power, and that pressure is only building," said Rear Admiral (Ret.) Oded Gour-Lavie, Co-Founder and CEO of nT-Tao. "Fusion is still a developing technology, and every milestone matters on the path to commercial reality. Partnering with a developer like Orion, who knows how to site, permit, and finance real energy projects throughout the US, is exactly the kind of relationship we look for in order to build a credible path from where our technology is today toward commercial deployment."

"Orion is already siting and developing advanced nuclear projects alongside data centers and industrial loads across six states, and the constraint our customers describe is always the same: they need firm power on their own site, sooner than the grid can deliver it. They also face a gap in scale; microreactors currently in development are in the one-to-ten megawatt range, while utility-scale SMRs start well above fifty. A twenty-megawatt system with a footprint small enough to sit at the customer's own facility lands exactly where we need it to,” said John Aycoth, Chairman and CEO of Orion Nuclear Energy Corporation. “A technology that will eventually deploy commercially needs a development pathway built long before it is ready – sites, offtakers, financing structures, and early regulatory engagement. That is the work we are beginning with nT-Tao."

nT-Tao's Compact Fusion System remains under active development. The company's C3 prototype reached operational status and achieved first plasma in January 2026, and in September 2026 the company deployed a new 50 MW pulsed-power subsystem, a five-fold increase in power capability built on the company's established MEGA platform, aimed at advancing the C3 prototype toward its next temperature milestone. The collaboration with Orion is intended to help translate that ongoing technical progress into a commercial pathway in the United States.

About nT-Tao

nT-Tao is building a compact, on-site fusion energy system capable of generating 20MW of clean, safe, and stable power. Engineered for manufacturability, scalability, and rapid deployment, nT-Tao’s solution is adaptable to a wide range of on- and off-grid energy needs, including distributed baseload power, industrial facilities, small towns, ships, data centers, and remote locations. Co-founded by Oded Gour-Lavie, Doron Weinfeld, and Boaz Weinfeld, nT-Tao is on a mission to redefine the global distributed energy landscape, delivering fusion power that is practical, deployable, and built for the world’s most demanding energy challenges. For more information, visit www.nt-tao.com and follow the company on LinkedIn and Twitter.

About Orion Nuclear Energy Corporation

Orion Nuclear Energy Corporation is a global developer of non-carbon, clean energy solutions for commercial-scale projects, specializing in the colocation of advanced nuclear energy with high-value industries such as data centers, advanced manufacturing, military bases, universities, and airports. Orion is actively developing small modular reactor (SMR), micro-modular reactor (MMR), and data center projects across six U.S. states, and evaluates emerging advanced energy technologies, including fusion, for future commercial deployment. The company is led by Chairman and CEO John Aycoth and President and Chief Operating Officer Admiral (Ret.) James F. "Frank" Caldwell Jr., former Director of the U.S. Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program. Find out more at www.orionnuclear.com.

Media Contacts

nT-Tao:
Brandon Weinstock
Allison Lane, Inc.
brandon@allison-lane.com

Orion Nuclear Energy Corporation:
Antoine Brimbal
Director of Communications
antoine.brimbal@orionnuclear.com