As part of the Strategic Capabilities Office (SCO) initiative Project Pele, the US Department of Defence has awarded a contract to X Energy, LLC of Rockville, Maryland. The order is to develop an enhanced engineering design for a transportable micro nuclear reactor and was awarded on September 13.
Micro-nuclear reactors are compact creators which will be small enough to be transported by truck and can help solve energy challenges in several areas, ranging from remote commercial or residential locations to military bases. Micro Nuclear Reactors are not defined by their fuel form or coolant but have three main features, these are as follows:
Factory fabricated
All components of the microreactor would be fully assembled in a factory and shipped out to the location. This eliminates difficulties associated with large-scale construction, and reduction in capital costs, and would help the reactor be up and running quickly.
Transportable
Smaller unit designs will make microreactors very transportable. This would make it easy for the vendors to ship the entire reactor by truck, shipping vessel, aeroplane or railcar.
Self Adjusting
Microreactors will be able to self-adjust because of straightforward and flexible design principles. They would use passive safety mechanisms to avoid any possibility of overheating or reactor meltdown, and they wouldn’t need a lot of specialised operators.
In 2022, SCO selected BMX Technologies, Inc. of Lynchburg, Virginia to build a prototype Micro Nuclear reactor. This work is underway and long-lead hardware fabrication has begun. By executing this contract option with X-energy, SCO seeks to develop a complementary microreactor design that builds up X energy’s developments completed under Project Pele in 2022. To develop a reactor design that is ready for licencing by the National Regulatory Commission for both civilian and military resiliency, this option maintains financing for X Energy to develop its design to meet Project Pele’s technical standards.
Dr. Jeff Waksman, Project Pele Program Manager in a statement said that due to the extraordinary energy density, nuclear reactors have the potential to serve multiple critical functions for meeting resiliency needs in contested Logistics environments. He also said that by developing two unique designs, they will provide the services with a broad range of options as they consider potential uses of nuclear power for both installation and operational energy applications shortly.
The DOD uses approximately 30 Terawatt hours of electricity per year and more than 10 million gallons of fuel per day-levels that are only expected to increase due to the anticipated electrification of the vehicle fleet and maturation of future energy-intensive capabilities. A safe, small and transportable nuclear reactor would address this growing demand with a resilient, carbon-free energy source that doesn’t add to DOD’s fuel needs while supporting mission-critical Operations in remote and austere environments. This contract option for one year of work by X-energy will not result in a completed engineering design but will allow a thorough analysis of design options, which will lead to a Preliminary Engineering design and initiation of the regulatory pre-application process.
Jay Dryer, the SCO director has said that the strategic capability office specializes in adapting commercial technology for military purposes. He also said that by nurturing and developing multiple micronuclear designs, the SCO will not just provide options for military services but will also jumpstart a truly competitive commercial marketplace for microreactors.
