Terra Innovatum Expands U.S. Presence with Pittsburgh, Pa. Headquarters and Leadership Appointments to Advance SOLO™ Licensing Readiness and FOAK Deployment

Establishes Pittsburgh headquarters to support U.S. market expansion and SOLO™ deployment

Appoints experienced nuclear industry leaders, John Valentino and Michael Anness, to strengthen sales, strategy and execution

Advances U.S. licensing readiness, FOAK planning, and domestic supply chain alignment

PITTSBURGH, May 04, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Terra Innovatum Global N.V. (NASDAQ: NKLR) (“Terra” or the “Company”), developer of the SOLO™ Micro-Modular Reactor, today announced the establishment of Terra Innovatum Corp., its U.S. headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pa., marking a significant milestone in the company’s expansion into the United States and its progression toward first-of-a-kind (“FOAK”) deployment of the SOLO™ microreactor.

As part of this effort, Terra Innovatum has appointed John Valentino as Head of U.S. Sales and Business Development and Michael Anness as Head of U.S. Strategy & Operations, strengthening the company’s capabilities across commercial development, regulatory execution, and deployment readiness in the U.S. market.

The establishment of a U.S. headquarters reflects Terra Innovatum’s strategic focus on the United States as a core market for deployment, enabling closer engagement with regulators, customers, and partners, while supporting alignment with domestic supply chains and infrastructure requirements.

The U.S. platform further strengthens Terra Innovatum’s positioning to support federal and state energy initiatives, enabling closer coordination with government stakeholders and alignment with domestic deployment priorities.

“Establishing our U.S. headquarters is a critical step in advancing the deployment of the SOLO™ platform in one of the world’s most important energy markets,” said Alessandro Petruzzi, Chief Executive Officer of Terra Innovatum. “With John and Michael, we are strengthening both our commercial and execution capabilities, positioning the company to effectively navigate the U.S. regulatory environment and advance FOAK deployment.”

Terra Innovatum’s U.S. organization is designed to align commercial strategy with execution readiness, integrating business development, regulatory engagement, and project delivery into a unified operating approach tailored to the U.S. market and supporting the transition from development to deployment.

John Valentino will lead all U.S. sales and business development activities across public and private sector markets, including government engagement and strategic partnerships. He brings more than three decades of experience in the nuclear and energy sectors, with a track record across global business development, commercial strategy, and government relations, including leadership roles at Centrus Energy, X-energy, Westinghouse Electric Company, and Duke Energy.

“Terra Innovatum presents a compelling opportunity to bring advanced energy solutions to a market with strong demand for reliable, carbon-free power,” said Mr. Valentino, Head of U.S. Sales and Business Development. “I look forward to building strategic relationships across government and industry to support deployment of the SOLO™ platform in the United States.”

Mr. Anness will lead U.S. execution strategy, with responsibility for licensing readiness, FOAK development, and commercialization planning. He brings more than two decades of experience in the clean energy sector, including senior roles at Westinghouse Electric Company, where he supported first-of-a-kind AP1000 reactor deployment, small modular reactor development, and nuclear fuel innovation. His role includes advancing regulatory engagement, supporting pre-application activities, and ensuring alignment between technical development, siting, and deployment strategy.

“The U.S. market presents a significant opportunity for SOLO™, but it demands a disciplined approach to licensing and execution,” said Mr. Anness, Head of U.S. Strategy & Operations. “I’m focused on integrating regulatory, technical, and project delivery efforts into a cohesive plan that drives FOAK deployment.”

“Our presence in the United States is a critical step as we prepare for U.S. NRC licensing and the planned FOAK deployment of the SOLO™ Microreactor at Rock City, Illinois, while advancing the U.S. as our first core market and growing our supply chain,” said Cesare Frepoli, Chief Operating Officer of Terra Innovatum and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Terra Innovatum Corp. “It allows us to more effectively integrate our technical, regulatory, and commercial efforts within a single operating framework and execute in a disciplined and coordinated manner.”

The SOLO™ microreactor is designed to deliver reliable, carbon-free energy with a compact footprint and a flexible deployment model. Terra Innovatum’s expansion into the United States supports deeper engagement with customers, regulators, and industrial partners, advancing the company’s ability to deploy scalable energy solutions in key markets.

ABOUT TERRA INNOVATUM & SOLO™

Terra Innovatum's mission is to make nuclear power accessible. We deliver simple and safe micro-reactor solutions that are scalable, affordable and deployable anywhere 1 MWe at a time.

Terra Innovatum is a pioneering force in the energy sector, dedicated to delivering innovative and sustainable power solutions. Terra Innovatum plans to leverage cutting-edge nuclear technology through the SOLO™ Micro-Modular Reactor (SMR™) to provide efficient, safe, and environmentally conscious energy. With a mission to address global energy shortages, Terra Innovatum combines extensive expertise in nuclear industry design, manufacturing, and installation licensing to offer disruptive energy solutions. Committed to propelling technological advancements, Terra Innovatum and SOLO™ are dedicated to fostering prosperity and sustainability for humankind.

It is anticipated that SOLO™ will be available globally within the next three years. Conceptualized in 2018 and engineered over six years by experts in nuclear safety, licensing, innovation, and R&D, SOLO™ addresses pressing global energy demands with a market-ready solution. Built from readily available commercial off-the-shelf components, the proven licensing path for SOLO™ enables rapid deployment and minimizes supply chain risks, ensuring final cost predictability. Designed to adapt with evolving fuel options, SOLO™ supports both LEU+ and HALEU, offering a platform ready to transition to future fuel supplies.

SOLO™ will offer a wide range of versatile applications, providing CO2-free, behind-the-meter, and off-grid power solutions for data centers, mini-grids serving remote towns and villages, and large-scale industrial operations in hard-to-abate sectors like cement production, oil and gas, steel manufacturing, and mining. It also has the ability to supply heat for industrial applications and other specialized processes, including water treatment, desalination and co-generation. Thanks to its modular design, SOLO™ can easily scale to deliver up to 1GW or more of CO2-free power with a minimal footprint, making it an ideal solution for rapidly replacing fossil fuel-based thermal plants. Beyond electricity and heat generation, SOLO™ can also contribute to critical applications in the medical sector by producing radioisotopes essential for oncology research and cancer treatment.

To learn more, visit: https://investors.terrainnovatum.com/. Follow us on X: https://x.com/TerraInnovatum and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/terra-innovatum-solo/.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including, but not limited to, opinions and projections prepared by Terra Innovatum’s management. Forward-looking statements generally relate to future events or future financial or operating performance, including pro forma and estimated financial information, and other “forward-looking statements” (as such term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). The recipient can identify forward-looking statements because they typically contain words such as “outlook,” “believes,” “expects,” “ will,” “projected,” “continue,” “increase,” “may,” “should,” “could,” “seeks,” “predicts,” “intends,” “trends,” “plans,” “estimates,” “anticipates” or the negatives or variations of these words or other comparable words and/or similar expressions (but the absence of these words and/or similar expressions does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking). These forward-looking statements specifically include, but are not limited to, statements regarding estimates and forecasts of financial and performance metrics, projections of market opportunity and market share, expected timing for regulatory approvals and commercialization and the potential success of Terra Innovatum’s strategy and expectations. Forward-looking statements, opinions and projections are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Instead, they are based only on current beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding the future of Terra Innovatum’s business, future plans and strategies, projections, anticipated events and trends, the economy and other future conditions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of Terra Innovatum’s control. These uncertainties and risks may be known or unknown. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to: changes in domestic and foreign business, market, financial, political and legal conditions; failure to realize the anticipated benefits of the proposed business combination; risks relating to the uncertainty of the projected financial information with respect to Terra Innovatum; future global, regional or local economic and market conditions; the development, effects and enforcement of laws and regulations; Terra Innovatum’s ability to manage future growth; Terra Innovatum’s ability to develop new products and services, bring them to market in a timely manner, and make enhancements to its platform; the effects of competition on Terra Innovatum’s future business; and the outcome of any potential litigation, government and regulatory proceedings, investigations and inquiries and other risks and uncertainties described under the heading “Risk Factors” in documents Terra Innovatum files from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. If any of these risks materialize or the Terra Innovatum’s assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by the forward-looking statements contained herein. In addition, forward-looking statements reflect Terra Innovatum’s expectations and views as of the date of this presentation. Terra Innovatum anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause its assessments to change. However, while Terra Innovatum may elect to update these forward-looking statements in the future, each of them specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made.

CONTACTS

Giordano Morichi
Founding Partner, Chief Business Development Officer & Investor Relations
Terra Innovatum Global N.V.

E: g.morichi@terrainnovatum.com
W: www.terrainnovatum.com

Investor Relations

Simon Willcocks
Alliance Advisors IR
E: investors@terrainnovatum.com

Media Relations

Fatema Bhabrawala
Alliance Advisors IR
E: TerraIR@allianceadvisors.com

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