A Maryland nuclear energy technology company will partner with Pentagon agencies to help develop its commercial microreactor, officials announced.
Installing Microreactors at Military Facilities
X-energy Reactor Company reached an agreement with the Defense Department’s Defense Innovation Unit and the Department of the Air Force under those agencies’ Advanced Nuclear Power for Installations program.
The initiative promotes installing microreactor technologies at military installations, and includes a flexible “contracting mechanism” that company officials said would allow for faster deployment of commercial nuclear systems.
An executive order issued in May directs the Pentagon to deploy an advanced reactor at a U.S. military installation before 2030.
The Xenith Microreactor
X-energy is a developer of small, modular nuclear reactors; its Xenith microreactor was selected under the department’s Project Pele to advance to an “enhanced engineering” stage, which includes continued work on its design and “pre-licensing” talks with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Working on Utility-Scale Reactor, Fuel Plant
X-energy says it is also working on a grid-scale reactor known as the Xe-100, as well as a nuclear fuel fabrication facility that will produce its Triso-X fuel.
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