US Navy picks Radiant’s Kaleidos nuclear microreactor for Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane in Indiana

The US Department of the Navy has selected Radiant Industries to design, build and deliver a prototype power plant based on a nuclear microreactor at Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane in Indiana. The project is moving forward in partnership with the US Army’s Janus programme, aiming at grid-independent energy that can be deployed whenever needed. The announcement was made on October 20. The contract value was not disclosed.

Radiant, based in El Segundo, California, will install its Kaleidos microreactor. According to the company’s announcement, it is a 1 MW reactor built in a factory and transported by land, sea or air. Each unit provides power for up to five years before refuelling, with a twenty-year lifetime. It needs no cooling water, major excavation or extensive on-site construction. Radiant says it is the only nuclear energy company working with the US Army, Navy and Air Force.

“Our installations are foundational platforms for warfighting, and their resilience is essential to supporting the Fleet,” said Rear Adm. Brad Collins, commander of Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command. Mike Dodd, Assistant Secretary of War for Critical Technologies, said the department is “actively tearing down barriers that held back the deployment of nuclear reactors”. Jeff Waxman of the Army’s installations, energy and environment office noted that it will be Indiana’s first advanced microreactor.

The project will go through design refinement, prototype testing, an environmental assessment, site preparation and regulatory coordination before deployment. The Army, the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program will take part. Kaleidos is undergoing a one-year full-power test at the DOME facility of Idaho National Laboratory.

The Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program was founded in 1948 and operates reactors in submarines, such as the Ohio-class boats, and in aircraft carriers. According to Radiant, US naval reactors have travelled more than 171 million miles and completed more than 7,500 reactor-years of operation without a nuclear accident. Nuclear propulsion is also used by Britain’s Royal Navy in its Astute-class submarines. Applying the technology on land bases, with small transportable units, is the new step.