The Pentagon began its energy expo this week, showcasing several advanced energy projects the military is developing.
The Energy Sentry – Pentagon: DoD’s Energy Innovation Expo, that spans from Sept. 22 to 24, displays over 100 projects the Pentagon is deploying across the Army, Navy, Air Force and elsewhere. Among the many projects, advanced nuclear energy spans across multiple military operations.
“For too long, defense planners operated under a false construct,” Dale Marks, the assistant secretary for energy, installations and environment, said in a Department of Defense (DoD) publication on Tuesday. “We built a firewall between installation energy — the power running our bases at home — and operational energy — the fuel and the batteries powering our assets at the tactical edge. Today, that seam is completely gone; it’s blurred into irrelevance.”
The Army’s Janus program selected five advanced reactor companies to develop microreactors at several Army bases to power military operations. The Air Force has its Advanced Nuclear Power for Installations program that selected three companies to develop advanced reactors to power some of its bases.
Advanced nuclear power is also planned for several naval bases as well. The Navy plans to deploy a microreactor at Naval Weapons Station Crane in Indiana to power the naval innovation center for weapons development.
According to the Pentagon release, beyond just military-related operations, the department is working on space reactor technology. It is investing into the Versatile Autonomous Kilowatt-Class Reactor project, named VALKRE, with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).