Disclaimer 2 Oct: The headline and article has been edited to clarify that Citadel, not Ken Griffin, purchased shares of HCM II Acquisition Corp.
Billionaire investor Kenneth Griffin leads one of the most successful hedge funds in the world. As the founder and CEO of Citadel Advisors, Griffin is widely known for his open-mindedness to diverse asset classes and love for math, evident from his quantitative investing approach, which helped Citadel generate over $74 billion (£54.7 billion) in net gains since its inception in 1990.
Recently, Citadel Advisors purchased nearly 1 million shares of HCM II Acquisition (Nasdaq:HOND) on 23rd September, just before the special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) received approval from the US Securities and Exchange Commission on 26th September for the merger with Terrestrial Energy.
SPACs are blank-cheque companies formed to raise capital through an initial public offering, with the intention of later acquiring or merging with an existing, private operating company. SPACs offer a faster alternative to a traditional IPO for private companies, enabling them to become publicly traded by merging with the shell companies.
Terrestrial Energy develops small modular nuclear plants using Generation IV advanced reactor technology. Soon after the SEC approval, the US Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy selected the company for the Fuel Line Pilot Program, according to a 1st October press release.
US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in May to form the pilot program aimed at addressing the country’s shortage of domestic nuclear fuel resources. Terrestrial Energy will establish an Integral Molten Salt Reactor fuel line within a DOE-approved facility and engage Western suppliers to advance the molten salt reactor fuel cycle within a domestic nuclear fuel supply chain anchored in the US.
According to Terrestrial Energy, the contract award complements its recent selection for DOE’s Advanced Reactor Pilot Program announced in August 2025, to create a framework spanning both reactor development and fuel supply chain capabilities.
‘President Trump has made clear that a strong nuclear sector is a central component of America’s energy security and prosperity,’ said Deputy Secretary of Energy James P. Danly. ‘Restoring a secure domestic fuel supply will ensure that advanced reactors can move quickly from design to deployment and into operation. The ability to produce these fuels is essential to ensuring American leadership in nuclear energy and to meeting the nation’s growing demand for reliable power.’
Furthermore, Trump is mulling a proposal to alter plutonium to fuel a new generation of power plants, including startups pitching advanced reactor designs. The development is part of a broader push by Trump to convert tonnes of the DOE’s plutonium for civilian use, which experts believe could undermine the US weapons program.
According to media reports, over a fifth of the plutonium required to meet Trump’s mandates would come from highly radioactive spheres made for the cores of nuclear weapons. However, the DOE continues to face a crunch to make more of those spheres.
The department is ‘not meeting the current pit manufacturing schedule,’ according to a former DOE official familiar with the department’s plutonium reserves.
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