A Palm Beach Gardens energy company is betting that artificial intelligence can shorten the long road from a reactor design on paper to a power system a data center can actually buy. AMPERA, headquartered on Hiatt Drive, has signed a multi year research partnership worth about $9 million, or 7 million British pounds, with Imperial College London to build an AI powered digital twin platform called NeuralTwin.
The company announced the deal on Oct. 27, 2026, in an AMPERA press release on the Imperial College London NeuralTwin partnership. Imperial confirmed the partnership in its own Imperial College London news article on the AMPERA digital twin platform, describing a 7 million pound partnership to develop a digital twin platform for energy systems.
What AMPERA Builds
AMPERA describes itself as an advanced energy technology company developing scalable power solutions for data center, defense, industrial and maritime applications. Its strategy, branded "PowerNOW. NuclearNEXT.," combines advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence and next generation energy technologies to deliver factory built power systems.
The company's Integrated Energy Architecture supports waste heat recovery, conventionally fueled power generation and advanced subcritical nuclear energy. Imperial's article describes AMPERA as specializing in small modular nuclear reactors, or microreactors, designed to power individual data centers, factories, and defense and maritime applications.
AMPERA's microreactors are still in development. In an October release, the company said it is in the pre application phase of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing process and anticipates submitting its combined manufacturing and fuel fabrication facility license application by October 2027. The reactor license application itself has not yet been filed.
What NeuralTwin Is Meant to Do
A digital twin is a real time digital representation of a physical system. According to the release, conventional digital twins can depend heavily on predefined models and computationally intensive simulations. NeuralTwin is designed to combine first principles physics with AI based surrogates, which are faster models trained to stand in for slower simulations.
Imperial's article puts it this way: the platform will pair high fidelity physics simulations with faster AI surrogates trained to predict the effects of engineering decisions, drawing on the laws of physics without comprehensively modeling them. The stated goals are to accelerate engineering, optimize performance, improve safety, support licensing and, eventually, enable increasingly predictive, autonomous operation.
The release says the program covers methods to design, assess, optimize and validate energy systems for faster, more cost effective deployment. The partners expect the wider impact to be lower time, cost and technical risk in moving from initial concept to deployable, manufacturable and licensable energy systems.
Who Is Doing the Work
On the Imperial side, the project draws on Professor Christopher Pain, whose research focuses on computational modeling and who has a long record of collaboration with major industry partners, and Dr. Jiansheng Xiang, the co investigator. Both are in Imperial's Department of Earth Science and Engineering.
"This collaboration will supercharge every aspect of our technology development," AMPERA founder and CEO Brian Matthews said in the release. "From licensing to engineering analysis to autonomous operations, we see NeuralTwin as being a marketplace differentiator."
Pain said Imperial is "passionate about translating cutting edge academic research into the commercial sector where it can accelerate the development of next generation energy systems." Xiang called NeuralTwin "an important next step in bringing together scientific machine learning, digital twins, and high fidelity computational methods."
How It Fits AMPERA's Other Technology
Imperial's article says the digital twin work will complement other technologies AMPERA is using: rapid 3D printing of reactor cores, a subcritical architecture and thorium fuel. In a subcritical design, reactions depend on an external neutron generator, which Imperial says eliminates the risk of uncontrolled reactions.
The company has announced several related milestones this year. On July 1, according to an August release, AMPERA unveiled what it believes to be the first full scale, additively manufactured demonstration module of its nuclear core architecture, a spherical structure 3D printed in silicon carbide. On Aug. 26, it announced a partnership project with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory on advanced nuclear fuel, focused on producing thorium kernels for TRISO fuel.
The company says its platform is designed for up to 30 years of operation without refueling. Those are design goals for a system that has not yet entered commercial service.
The Licensing Path
AMPERA's Oct. 5 release on its NRC Regulatory Engagement Plan says the company submitted the plan as part of the pre application phase. Its scope covers reactor licensing under Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Parts 40, 53, 70 and 71, to support nuclear material activities, fuel fabrication, reactor core manufacturing and deployment of modules to multiple sites.
The company said its plan aligns with the NRC's Office of Advanced Reactors. It also named Michael Hamer, a graduate of the U.S. Navy Nuclear Program with more than 25 years of licensing experience, as director of licensing and regulatory affairs, working with licensing strategist Dr. April Smith.
That licensing work is where the Imperial deal connects most directly. Both the release and Matthews' comments point to licensing support as one of NeuralTwin's intended uses, alongside engineering analysis and, later, autonomous operations.
Why It Matters in Palm Beach County
For South Florida owners, the story is less about reactors than about the business ecosystem forming around AI power demand. Data centers need large amounts of reliable electricity, and companies working on new ways to supply it are drawing research partners, specialized staff and suppliers. AMPERA has chosen Palm Beach Gardens as its home base, at 354 Hiatt Drive, according to the company's website.
Firms that may find openings around companies like AMPERA include engineering and technical consultants, advanced manufacturing suppliers, commercial real estate and lab space providers, and professional services such as legal, regulatory and recruiting. Owners should treat this as an early stage signal rather than an immediate order book, since the reactor itself is years from a licensing decision.
The company lists upcoming appearances at Euronaval in Paris, Nov. 3 to 7, 2026, and PowerGen International in Salt Lake City, Jan. 18 to 21, 2027, which suggests continued outreach to defense, maritime and power industry buyers.
What to Watch Next
- Whether AMPERA and Imperial publish technical results or milestones from the NeuralTwin program.
- AMPERA's progress in NRC pre application review, ahead of its planned license application by October 2027.
- Hiring and facility announcements tied to the Palm Beach Gardens headquarters.
- Additional research or supply partnerships, including the Lawrence Livermore fuel work.
For more on power demand from data centers in the state, read the FPL data center 8 GW contractor guide, the Florida SB 484 data center owner explainer and how South Florida data centers plan for hurricane resilience.
Sources
- AMPERA, AMPERA and Imperial College London Partner to Develop Physics Grounded AI Platform (Oct. 27, 2026)
- Imperial College London, Imperial and AMPERA join forces to develop digital twin platform
- AMPERA, Regulatory Engagement Plan submitted to the NRC (Oct. 5, 2026)
- AMPERA, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory fuel partnership (Aug. 26, 2026)
- AMPERA company website
Related
- FPL Data Center 8 GW Target Contractor Guide
- Florida AI Data Center SB 484 Owner Explainer
- South Florida Data Centers and Hurricane Resilience
Key Facts
What deal did AMPERA sign with Imperial College London?
AMPERA, an advanced energy company based in Palm Beach Gardens, announced on Oct. 27, 2026, a multi year partnership worth about $9 million, or 7 million pounds, with Imperial College London. The two will develop NeuralTwin, a physics grounded AI digital twin platform for designing, licensing and eventually operating advanced energy systems such as microreactors.
What is NeuralTwin?
NeuralTwin is a planned digital twin platform, a real time digital representation of a physical system. It combines high fidelity physics simulations with faster AI surrogates trained to predict the effects of engineering decisions. The partners say it is meant to accelerate engineering, optimize performance, improve safety, support licensing and later enable more autonomous operation of energy systems.
What kind of reactor is AMPERA developing?
AMPERA is developing a subcritical, thorium fueled microreactor platform for data centers, factories, defense and maritime use. In a subcritical design, reactions depend on an external neutron generator. The company also uses 3D printed reactor core structures and says the platform is designed for up to 30 years of operation without refueling.
Are AMPERA's microreactors operating today?
No. AMPERA's microreactors are still in development, and the company has not yet filed its reactor license application. The company said in October 2026 that it is in the pre application phase with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and anticipates submitting its combined manufacturing and fuel fabrication facility license application by October 2027, under its Regulatory Engagement Plan.
Who leads the Imperial College London side of the project?
The Imperial work draws on Professor Christopher Pain, a computational modeling researcher with a long record of industry collaboration, and Dr. Jiansheng Xiang, the co investigator. Both are in Imperial's Department of Earth Science and Engineering. On the company side, AMPERA founder and CEO Brian Matthews called NeuralTwin a potential marketplace differentiator for the business.
