Kofi Asante — the son of an engineer from Ghana, West Africa, and a U.S.-born communications professor from the East Coast — grew up amid an eclectic background that nurtured some rather unexpected dreams in charting his own path.
Today, the ever-curious 31-year-old entrepreneur is making headlines as the only Black founder of a small but growing nuclear company — Bluecore Energy — that is on track to test and provide a floating, small nuclear reactor barge that’s designed to deliver clean energy to the Port of Long Beach.
It’s a groundbreaking ambition that aims high.
“Our mission is simple,” declares the maritime startup’s website. “Democratize access to clean energy.”
“Energy is the foundation of modern life,” Bluecore’s description adds. “We believe access to clean, reliable power should not be limited by geography or the infrastructure already in place.”
Teaming up with the Port of Long Beach was a natural partnership. The port is on a fast and ambitious track to become the world’s first zero-emissions commercial seaport.
“I knew I wanted to keep working on big problems in my head,” Asante said of his professional track since graduating from Tufts University in Boston, where his studies encompassed philosophy, the humanities, history and political science.
“If this works, it impacts millions of people in a positive way,” he added. “Building a business is hard no matter what, so you might was well do something that’s worth it.”
Bluecore Energy, founded by Asante only about eight months ago, has raised $10 million and aims to develop floating small modular nuclear reactors. The start-up company is now headquartered at Berth 48 inside the Port of Long Beach.
In July, the port became the first in the U.S. to sign a memorandum of cooperation with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration to advance work on SMR technology to power commercial vessels, ports and other maritime assets.
It wasn’t something that was on Asante’s radar when he launched out into the world from college.
He started out his career helping to launch Uber Freight. Asante, driven by his innate curiosity and “what if” thinking, had already become more aware of trucks, freight and ships in Los Angeles, where he and his wife lived. Along with that, came questions about how to cut pollution.
His wife, a pediatrician he met in college, was also seeing more patients affected by respiratory issues.
“One of the best medicines is preventative care,” he said.
A few years ago, Asante began immersing himself in the technology of electric cars, and ships and tug boats, following his own curiosity, he said in a telephone interview.
“I didn’t think, when I was a kid, I’d be the founder of a nuclear company,” he said. “Even a few years ago, it wasn’t on my radar. But I’d accumulated a skill set that allowed me to do it smoothly and once I had access to the financing and capital.”
In the big-picture, it all started with the recognition of what is needed now and going into the not-so-distant future.
“Everybody needs energy today,” he said, “and they need it immediately, and it needs to be clean.”
The Port of Long Beach, he said, was a natural option in seeking out partners.
“I reached out to one of the (port’s) heads of infrastructure at the time,” said Asante, who also had begun attending harbor commission meetings. “He took my call and he took me seriously. From there, we developed a trusting relationship.”
He was later introduced to port CEO Noel Hacegaba and Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson.
“They are phenomenal, some of the best leaders I’ve ever worked with,” Asante said. “They’re collaborative and humble and they worked well within the industry.”
Asante has assembled a growing team with nuclear, rocket, maritime and automotive backgrounds to focus on building floating nuclear power.
The number of employees is growing, he said.
And his journey from the humanities to creating nuclear energy, he said, wasn’t really so contradictory.
“I was interested more in the humanities, history and politics, the way government and philosophy work,” he said of his college years.
“Part of that exercise was the love of complexity in these open-ended questions, so that’s my favorite thing,” he added. “I care a lot about how we can make society better.”