How nuclear startups are using side products to chase profit

The road to futuristic nuclear power is long and paved with … cancer drugs?

The big picture: Several nuclear startups are pursuing profits on offshoot products stemming from scientific innovations — such as ingredients in cancer-treating drugs — to fund long journeys toward profiting on their primary business.

Why it matters: Building hundreds of nuclear power plants — including advanced fission and yet-to-actually-exist fusion — offers one of the most tantalizing ways to satisfy rapid power demand and combat climate change. • But finding a way to fund their expensive and complicated roads to scaling is essential. Capitalism demands profits far sooner.

Driving the news: TerraPower, an advanced nuclear energy company founded nearly 20 years ago, is scaling up production of a key cancer