“Project Pele” US DoD to Build Mobile Nuclear Micro-Reactor for Battle Field Power Supply

The US Department of Defense announced that Idaho National Labs will build and initially operate a type of mobile “nuclear micro-reactor” designed to help power its ever-more-electrified military machine. Project Pele, a project under the Strategic Capabilities Office, will be the first electricity-generating Generation IV nuclear reactor built in the US. The designed to deliver one to five megawatts of electrical power for a minimum of three years, according to the press release. “Thanks to the tireless work of the contract teams, the valuable input from local stakeholders, and the talented and experienced technical support teams at the Department of Energy and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, we are confident that an inherently safe by design mobile micro-reactor can be constructed and demonstrated safely at Idaho National Laboratory. Advanced nuclear power has the potential to be a strategic game-changer for the United States, both for the Defense and for the commercial sector. For it to be adopted, it must first be successfully demonstrated under real world operating conditions,” said Dr. Jeff Waksman, Project Pele program manager. Jeff Waksman, Project Pele program manager, said in a statement US Department of Defense is “confident that an inherently safe by design mobile micro-reactor can be constructed. The report argued nuclear power could be a “potential game changer” because of how different the technology is now from where it was in the ’60s and ’70s. “We now have the capability to build completely, inherently safe reactors,” Waksman told Breaking Defense in the interview. “We have the ability to build reactors that, even in worst case scenarios. Project Pele is a whole-of-government effort, with critical expertise provided by the Department of Energy, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the National Nuclear Security Administration. The Pele reactor is to be a single prototype, which will be demonstrated only within the United States, under the safety oversight of the Department of Energy. A decision by the Department of Defense on whether or not to transition the technology and to use it operationally will be made at a future date. #PeleProgram #ProjectPele #Micro-Reactor