The Army and Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) are requesting bids to provide nuclear power plant energy solutions that would be demonstrated on a military installation within the U.S. by 2030.
The goal of the effort, named the Janus program, is to develop prototype Microreactor Power Plants (MPPs) to provide power to “installations and non-permanent operations” to help the Defense Department reduce its reliance on aging civilian infrastructure and meet increasing energy demand from the use of advanced technologies, DIU said on Tuesday.
The Janus program was announced in October by the Army and Energy Department in response to an earlier directive from President Donald Trump for DoD to operate a nuclear reactor at a military installation by September 2028.
The Army, in a separate announcement, identified the following for potential sites for initial MPP deployments: Fort Benning, Ga.; Fort Bragg, N.C.; Fort Campbell, Ky; Fort Drum, N.Y.; Fort Hood, Texas; Fort Wainwright, Alaska; Holston Army Ammunition Plant, Tenn.; Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.; and Redstone Arsenal, Ala.
“These early site selections align with the Department of War’s goal of accelerating the pace of deploying on-site generation at our installations,” Jordan Gillis, assistant Army secretary for installations, energy and environment, said in a statement. “Through the use of the Army’s unique nuclear regulatory authorities, we are deploying a resilient, secure, and reliable energy supply for critical defense operations and in support of the most lethal land-based fighting force in the world.”
Plans call for multiple selected MPP designs, each paired with an Army installation after award. Awardees will prototype a first-of-a-kind reactor followed shortly by a second-of-a-kind system, DIU said.
Successful prototypes will transition to normal operations and be managed and owned by contractors.
Vendor responses are due by Dec. 15.
Exchange Monitor affiliate Defense Daily first published a version of this story.