The United States Navy selected El Segundo, Calif.-based Radiant Nuclear’s microreactor technology to power Naval Weapons Station in Crane, Ind., the company said Tuesday.
The Navy previously announced in September that Naval Weapons Station in Crane would be the service’s first naval microreactor installation. Radiant will work with the Navy, Army, Defense Innovation Unit, Nuclear Regulatory Commission and others on the project, according to the company’s press release.
Radiant’s Kaleidos microreactor will go through an environmental review, site development and fine-tuning of its design prior to the deployment.
“We are honored to be selected by the U.S. Navy for this important work, and we thank the Navy and the Army’s Dr. Waksman for their confidence in Radiant to deliver reliable, resilient nuclear power wherever their mission demands,” Tori Shivanandan, Radiant president and chief operating officer, said.“Our mission of Atoms for Prosperity is today strengthened by the support of the Navy and the State of Indiana.”
Radiant is designing the Kaleidos to be a one-megawatt, TRISO-fueled, gas-cooled transportable reactor. The company plans to factory-build the microreactor instead of traditionally constructing it to avoid long lead times, the company said.
With its recent selection, Radiant is now set to work with the Army, Air Force and Navy for various microreactor deployments across several military installations. Under the Army’s Janus program, the company was awarded $750 million to deploy up to 15 of its Kaleidos microreactors.
The Navy said Radiant’s selection for Naval Weapons Station Crane is not new or an addition within the Janus program and is accounted for by the Army expecting to “build more than 20 total nuclear microreactors on military installations” under it, according to the Navy’s press release.
