The Department of Defense broke ground at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) on the Project Pele transportable nuclear reactor.
The micro reactor is being manufactured by BWXT Advanced Technologies, Virginia under a Strategic Capabilities Office (SCO) initiative.
The final reactor assembly is scheduled to begin in February 2026, and it is likely that this will be the first-ever generation four nuclear reactor to produce electricity in the United States.
The prototype reactor facility is designed to be transported within four 20-foot shipping containers, and tested at INL, according to a press release by the DOD.
The Project Pele team will construct a concrete shield structure at the test site next year in order to be ready for reactor placement in 2026.
Project Pele
In 2016 the Defense Science Board (DSB) identified energy as a critical enabler of future military operations. It noted that battlefield energy usage will likely increase significantly over the next few decades.
Therefore, the DOD’s Strategic Capabilities Office (SCO) launched Project Pele – named after the Hawaiian goddess of fire and power – to develop a fourth-generation nuclear microreactor to deliver energy to support remote and austere environments
Further in 2022, the DOD decided to proceed with the program specifying the need for a high-temperature gas-cooled (HTGR) mobile microreactor able to produce 1-5 MWe for more than three years without refueling.
Two designs had initially been selected, one from BWXT Advanced Technologies and the second from X-energy. Finally, the BWXT’s micro reactor was selected for development by the DOD’s SCO.
Project Pele’s objective is to design, build, and demonstrate a prototype mobile nuclear reactor within five years. It is led by SCO in collaboration with the Department of Energy, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, as well as with industry partners.
Advanced Generation Four nuclear reactor
Upon arrival at the INL, the micro reactor will be transported by truck to the test site and positioned within the concrete shield structure.
Piping and electrical wiring will tie the reactor to INL’s specialized electric microgrid. Once the reactor’s final safety review is completed, the Pele project team will then proceed with the initial Test and Evaluation plan.
“We are thrilled to move beyond the era of PowerPoint advanced reactors,” said Dr. Jeff Waksman, Project Pele program manager. “Our tight partnership with INL and the Department of Energy Idaho Operations Office is leading the way forward not just for manufacturing advanced reactors, but also for regulating them in an efficient and safe manner.”
Dr. John Wagner, INL director, said, “We anticipate Pele will be among the first of a new generation of advanced experimental reactors hosted here before the end of the decade.”
The reactor is expected to operate for a minimum of three years at the lab and will help demonstrate the use of clean, reliable, and transportable nuclear power to help meet the increasing energy demands at military bases across the country, according to a press release by the Office of Nuclear Energy.
It further mentions that BWXT will leverage the learning from Project Pele to advance its civil-focused BANR microreactor , which is being supported by the Department of Energy’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program.
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