America Is Betting Big on a New Generation of Small Nuclear Reactors

Felicity Bradstock

Felicity Bradstock is a writer and journalist based in Mexico City. She writes for energy websites and covers several other industries, as well as writing…

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• The U.S. Army has selected five companies and five military installations for its Janus microreactor program, backed by up to $2.2 billion in federal funding.
• The Army aims to have at least one microreactor producing usable electricity at a military installation by September 30, 2028.
• Private developers, including Aalo, are also advancing reactor technology, supported by federal programs and efforts to streamline nuclear regulation.

Governments worldwide are racing to develop small modular reactors (SMRs) as part of their plans for a nuclear power renaissance, with significant progress being seen in recent years. However, the United States appears to be leading the way in nuclear microreactor development, with significant investment in the technology recently announced by the U.S. Army.

SMRs are advanced nuclear reactors with a power capacity of up to 300 MW(e) per unit, or around one-third of the generating capacity of a conventional nuclear reactor. They are much smaller than conventional reactors and are modular in form, so they can be produced in factories and transported to the site. Due to their smaller size, SMRs can be installed on sites not suitable for larger reactors. They are also much cheaper and faster to construct than conventional nuclear reactors and can be developed incrementally to meet a site’s growing energy demand.

A microreactor is even smaller than an SMR, for which a range of designs are currently under development in the United States with the aim of launching the first versions within the next decade. The compact nuclear reactors will be small enough to be transported by truck, boat, or plane and could help provide significant quantities of clean energy to a site. This will be particularly useful for rural locations without connectivity to the main power grid.

Microreactors will be produced and assembled in factories for transport to a wide range of sites, reducing capital costs and accelerating production. They are expected to have a simple, responsive design that allows them to self-adjust without requiring many specialised operators to make these changes, and will be developed with safety systems to prevent overheating or a reactor meltdown.

Most microreactors are being designed to generate between 1 MW and 20 MW of thermal energy, which could be used directly to heat or converted into clean electricity. They will run on a higher concentration of uranium-235 than is currently used in conventional reactors and can be connected to microgrids alongside renewable energy sources. They may also be useful for use in emergency response following a natural disaster. In addition, they can operate for up to 10 years without refuelling and be quickly removed from sites and replaced with new ones.

In the United States, the Department of Energy (DoE) supports a variety of advanced reactor designs, in line with President Trump’s support for a nuclear power resurgence. Trump has voiced support for a wide range of nuclear technologies, from conventional nuclear plants to SMRs and microreactors, aiming to quadruple nuclear power production in the United States by 2050.

In July, Texas-based Aalo announced that its Critical Test Reactor (CTR) had achieved criticality – the point at which a nuclear reactor is capable of sustaining a controlled, self-supporting chain reaction. Aalo said in a statement, “Our CTR went from groundbreaking to a sustained chain reaction in less than eight months – one of the fastest reactor builds in 80 years – and our company has gone from founding to fission in less than three years.” Aalo is focusing on producing 10 MWe reactors for deployment in 50 MWe Aalo Pods to power AI data centres.

In addition to private-sector development, the U.S. Army has taken the lead in microreactor development in recent years, following Trump’s Executive Order 14299 – Deploying Advanced Nuclear Reactor Technologies for National Security, which established the Army as the lead agency for military nuclear energy efforts. The directive required the Army to create an official programme with a deadline for an operational reactor at a domestic military installation by September 30, 2028.

In August, the U.S. Army announced plans to award up to $2.2 billion to five companies to construct new-generation microreactors at military bases across the United States. The deployment of these reactors will be supported by the federal easing of regulations for innovative reactor designs.

The Army will provide financing to Antares Nuclear at Fort Bragg in North Carolina; BWX Technologies at Fort Campbell in Kentucky; General Atomics at Fort Hood in Texas; Radiant Industries at Fort Benning in Georgia; and Westinghouse Government Services at Fort Drum in New York, with the aim of deploying at least one microreactor by the third quarter of 2028. The companies will be expected to raise billions in private investment to support development efforts.

Jeff Waksman, the principal deputy assistant secretary of the Army for installations, energy and environment, stated, “We believe that this will be the spear tip not just for microreactors but for all advanced reactors in the United States… There have been a lot of microreactor companies that have popped up recently, but we need to get them over the hump.”

While there has been greater discussion around SMR development, the United States is also investing heavily in microreactor construction, aiming to launch the first reactors within the next two years. Funding from the DoE and support from favourable national policies and regulations are expected to help rapidly advance development in the coming years.

By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com

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