A General Electric Co. joint venture and Bill Gates-backed TerraPower LLC agreed to collaborate on a new type of nuclear reactor.
GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy and TerraPower are pursuing a public-private partnership to design and build a so-called versatile test reactor, according to a statement Tuesday.
The U.S. Energy Department announced the versatile test reactor program last year in an effort to spur development of advanced nuclear technologies. Utilities are increasingly turning away from the country’s biggest source of carbon-free energy because conventional atomic power plants are costly to operate, and the only new one under construction is years behind ...