May 1, 2026 — For the past year, former SpaceX engineer Ben Kellie has been building a nuclear power company that will provide cleaner and safer energy at a smaller scale to large, industrial users like petrochemical refineries and artificial intelligence data centers.
Last week, Kellie came to New Orleans in search of the kind of deals and financing needed to grow his Los Angeles-based company, Applied Atomics, at the state’s first Nuclear Strategy and Supply Chain Summit.