Radiant Nuclear plans to build its first portable nuclear generator factory on land near the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee, the company announced this week.
The El Segundo, Calif. based microreactor developer company will invest $280 million in its new factory and create 175 new jobs in Roane County, according to Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development’s Monday press release.
Radiant said the factory will begin its construction in early 2026, according to the company’s press release. The R-50 factory is meant to produce up to 50 microreactors per year, the company said.
With construction of the factory slated for early 2026, Radiant said this agreement helps keep the company on track to produce its first Kaleidos reactor by 2028.
Kaleidos is a portable high-temperature gas-cooled microreactor with a net generating capacity of one megawatt. Radiant has been developing the microreactor since 2020 when the company was founded.
The company plans to test its first reactor in 2026 and seeks to be commercially viable for deployment by 2028.
The land for Radiant’s new factory includes portions of the historic K-27 and K-29 Manhattan Project sites at Oak Ridge. The land has been purchased from the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R), Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) and Tennessee Economic Development Commissioner Stuart McWhorter all attended the Radiant announcement ceremony.
Lee applauded Radiant’s decision to invest into Oak Ridge and contribute to the state’s overall investment into nuclear power generation.
“Tennessee is quickly emerging as the national leader in clean, reliable energy production”, Lee said in the release. “I’m proud to welcome Radiant to the Tennessee family and look forward to the vital role this company will play on the global stage, producing what will become the world’s first nuclear microreactor from right here in Oak Ridge,” Lee went on to say.
Radiant is the sixth company to locate in Tennessee using the state’s Nuclear Energy Fund, according to the state’s news release.
In Radiant’s choice of Tennessee, the company discontinued its plans in Natrona County in Wyoming. Radiant was eyeing the two states of Tennessee and Wyoming.
When it came down to it, Oak Ridge was a more viable option due to regulatory certainty, Radiant CEO Matt Wilson said in a Monday opinion piece in Oil City News.
According to Wilson, Radiant plan was “to build our nuclear generators in the Cowboy State [Wyoming], using Wyoming-mined uranium, send them to customers (like our troops at remote bases), and bring them back for refueling, with the used fuel being safely and temporarily stored in above-ground containers at our factory.”
Wyoming did not have a law accommodating Radiant’s vision, Wilson said. Wyoming allows for temporary storage of spent fuel only from operating power plants, which subsequently prohibited Radiant from temporarily storing waste at its manufacturing factory.
With Tennessee winning the sweepstakes for Radiant’s new factory, Wyoming state lawmakers and energy experts were frustrated with the company’s decision.
Wyoming state Rep. Steve Harshman (R) said he was disappointed by the company’s decision, the Cowboy State Daily reported on Tuesday. He added that Wyoming needs to change “about two words in the statute,” according to the report, to allow for on-site waste storage.