U.S. Department of Energy to Finance Development and Design of Three Microreactors

The U.S. Department of Energy awarded $3.9 million for engineering and experiment design of microreactors. The awards have been made through the National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC), which has developed the front-end engineering and experiment design (FEEED) process.

The funding will be awarded to the Westinghouse Electric Company`s eVinci™, Radiant`s Kaleidos and Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation`s Pylon microreactors which developers will be contracted for engineering and experiment design. Kathryn Huff, Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy, said that introduction of microreactors will become one step closer to reality.

Thee funding will support planning for the deployment of a one-fifth scale test reactor version of the reactor, which Westinghouse said will enable design finalization, testing and licensing of the technology.

Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation’s Pylon microreactor is a containerized system capable of producing 1.5-5 MWe with a lower mass than the high-temperature gas-cooled reactor system. The system is designed to be easily transportable to off-grid locations both on Earth and in space: for terrestrial use, the system comprises separate nuclear heat supply system and balance-of-plant modules, each individually fitting within a standard 6 m container.

The Kaleidos high-temperature gas-cooled microreactor was developed by California-based start-up Radiant Industries established in 2020 by former SpaceX engineers Doug Bernauer and Bob Urberger. Kaleidos will be capable of generating up to 1.2 MWe or 1.9 MW of thermal power for facility heating or water desalination, as a potential replacement for diesel generators. The electric power generator, cooling system, reactor, and shielding are all packaged in a single shipping container, facilitating rapid deployment. Radiant is targeting commercial unit production in 2028.

World Nuclear News