Houston-based nuclear startup Deployable Energy said last week it received the Department of Energy’s approval for preliminary safety analysis for its microreactor demonstration.
Deployable Energy applied to be a part of DOE’s reactor pilot program but was not one of the 10 companies chosen in August 2025. But the nuclear startup was selected under DOE’s Nuclear Energy Launch Pad initiative, which builds off the reactor pilot program.
Though the company is not part of the reactor pilot program that has the goal of having at least three reactors reach criticality by July 4, it still intends to have its reactor reach criticality this summer, according to its May 22 press release.
The company said the safety approval establishes the preliminary safety basis for its reactor criticality test. Bobby Gallagher, CEO of Deployable Energy, said that the preliminary design safety analysis approval puts it on track to bring the “reactor to life.”
“The PDSA [preliminary design safety analysis] approval is an important step in bringing a new reactor to life,” Gallagher said. “Completing this review in 106 days since program kickoff demonstrates both the strength of our safety approach and the urgency with which our team is executing toward demonstration.”
Being in DOE’s Nuclear Energy Launch Pad program, led by the National Reactor Innovation Center at Idaho National Laboratory, Deployable Energy will be given an opportunity to bring the microreactor from concept to commercial deployment.
Deployable Energy is developing a microreactor called Unity. The Unity microreactor is a compact, factory-built nuclear system designed to produce one-megawatt of transportable power in remote and infrastructure-constrained locations. It is intended to be used for defense, commercial, maritime and industrial purposes.
Deployable Energy was founded in 2025.