El Segundo, Calif.-based microreactor developer Radiant Nuclear has signed a long-term nuclear fuel agreement with Standard Nuclear, the company said Aug. 20.
Under the deal Oak Ridge, Tenn.-based Standard Nuclear will fabricate and supply tristructural isotropic – or TRISO fuel for Radiant’s Kaleidos microreactors through the early 2030s, according to Radiant’s press release. The agreement comes as Radiant begins transporting its Kaleidos microreactor to the Department of Energy’s Demonstration of Microreactor Experiments (DOME) test bed at Idaho National Laboratory for full power testing.
Radiant’s Kaleidos microreactor is designed to be a one-megawatt, TRISO-fueled gas-cooled transportable reactor. The company is working on a 2028 timeline for commercialization as it seeks to deploy one of its units at the Air Force’s Buckley Space Force Base in Colorado.
Radiant was among three nuclear reactor companies selected by the Department of Air Force and the Defense Innovation Unit to develop a microreactor at a military base.
“Securing the fuel supply chain is a strategic advantage to deploying at scale,” Tori Shivanandan, Radiant’s president and COO, said in the release. “By executing this TRISO fuel supply agreement for our planned deployments through the early 2030s, we have established a key partnership to support our mission.”
Radiant said the deal helps the company grow an integrated supply chain as it plans to build a microreactor production facility, named R-50, in Oak Ridge. With Standard Nuclear also in Oak Ridge, Radiant said this agreement will secure “all critical elements of the supply chain needed to deliver production at the scale necessary to meet customer demand.”
The two startup companies already had a working relationship as Standard Nuclear has already provided TRISO fuel for Radiant’s DOME testing at INL.