Israeli fusion energy company nT-Tao and U.S. advanced nuclear developer Orion Nuclear Energy Corporation have announced a strategic collaboration aimed at bringing compact fusion power to data centers and critical infrastructure across the United States.
The two companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding establishing a framework for nT-Tao to work through Orion's project development and commercialization capabilities to identify and advance deployment opportunities for its Compact Fusion System in the U.S. market.
A Gap in the Power Market
The partnership is aimed squarely at a problem both companies say their customers are already experiencing. AI-driven data centers, industrial facilities, and other high-load users are placing mounting strain on the U.S. power grid, and the timeline for conventional grid expansion has not kept pace with demand.
At the same time, the existing landscape of advanced nuclear technologies leaves a gap in scale that both companies say is driving real commercial interest in what nT-Tao is building.
John Aycoth, Chairman and CEO of Orion Nuclear Energy Corporation, described the situation plainly. Orion is already developing advanced nuclear projects alongside data centers and industrial loads across six U.S. states, and the feedback from customers is consistent: they need firm power on-site, sooner than the grid can deliver it.
Aycoth noted that microreactors currently in development fall in the one-to-ten-megawatt range, while utility-scale small modular reactors start well above fifty megawatts. A twenty-megawatt system capable of sitting directly at a customer's facility, he said, lands exactly where that gap exists.
The Technology at the Center of the Deal
nT-Tao's Compact Fusion System is designed to deliver up to 20 megawatts of continuous, clean electricity from a footprint compact enough to be sited at a customer's own facility rather than requiring a large centralized plant.
The system is built on the company's MEGA platform, which stands for Modular Energy Generator Architecture, a pulsed-power technology the company describes as established and engineered for manufacturability and scalable deployment.
The company reached a significant technical milestone in January 2026, when its C3 prototype reached operational status and achieved first plasma. In September 2026, nT-Tao deployed a new 50-megawatt pulsed-power subsystem, representing a five-fold increase in power capability built on the MEGA platform.
The company said the upgrade is aimed at advancing the C3 prototype toward its next temperature milestone. nT-Tao described the Compact Fusion System as still under active development.
Rear Admiral (Ret.) Oded Gour-Lavie, co-founder and CEO of nT-Tao, acknowledged the technology's current stage directly. Fusion remains a developing technology, he said, and every milestone matters on the path to commercial reality.
His characterization of the Orion partnership reflects that position. Orion brings expertise in siting, permitting, and financing real energy projects across the United States, and that kind of relationship, Gour-Lavie said, is what nT-Tao looks for in order to build a credible path from where the technology is today toward commercial deployment.
How the Partnership Is Structured
Under the terms of the MoU, the two companies have divided responsibilities along the lines of their respective capabilities. Orion will function as the U.S. project development and commercialization partner.
That role encompasses identifying potential customers and power offtakers, evaluating project sites, structuring financing arrangements, and engaging with utilities, infrastructure providers, and relevant regulatory bodies.
nT-Tao will serve as the technology provider, contributing system design, performance data, a development roadmap, and deployment expertise for the Compact Fusion System. Following the signing of the agreement, the companies said they plan to work toward identifying a limited number of initial U.S. opportunities for further evaluation.
Aycoth framed the early-stage nature of the work as intentional rather than premature. A technology that will eventually deploy commercially, he said, needs a development pathway built long before it is ready.
That means lining up sites, offtakers, financing structures, and early regulatory engagement well in advance. That is the work, he said, the two companies are beginning together.
Orion's Existing Footprint
Orion Nuclear Energy Corporation describes itself as a global developer of non-carbon, clean energy solutions for commercial-scale projects, with a specific focus on the colocation of advanced nuclear energy with high-value industries. Those industries include data centers, advanced manufacturing, military bases, universities, and airports.
The company is actively developing small modular reactor, micro-modular reactor, and data center projects across six U.S. states, and it evaluates emerging advanced energy technologies, including fusion, for future commercial deployment.
Orion is led by Aycoth as Chairman and CEO alongside President and Chief Operating Officer Admiral (Ret.) James F. Caldwell Jr., a former Director of the U.S. Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program. The company is headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, with an additional presence in Houston.
nT-Tao's Background and Mission
nT-Tao is an Israeli company headquartered in Tel Aviv. It was co-founded by Oded Gour-Lavie, Doron Weinfeld, and Boaz Weinfeld. The company describes its mission as redefining the global distributed energy landscape by delivering fusion power that is practical, deployable, and built for demanding energy challenges. Its target applications span distributed baseload power, industrial facilities, small towns, ships, data centers, and remote locations.
The company positions its Compact Fusion System as adaptable to both on-grid and off-grid energy needs, with a consistent emphasis on a small physical footprint that allows direct on-site installation rather than dependence on centralized generation and transmission infrastructure.
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