The US Army said on Wednesday it is awarding up to $2.2 billion to five companies to build and operate tiny nuclear reactors on military bases, which it hopes will one day power remote installations. So-called microreactors are tiny factory-built nuclear plants that developers say will be easily transported and generate up to 20 megawatts of power each.
The Army believes that developing them through a program called Janus could one day help power remote military installations such as those in Alaska or on islands. The program has a goal of deploying the first reactor by September 2028. The Army did not detail how much money would be distributed to each company, but Radiant said it will get up to $750 million to develop and deploy 15 of its Kaleidos reactors.
An Army official said reactors will have to follow all environmental and safety rules that apply to commercial reactors but added that they would be regulated by the Army, not the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Jeff Waksman, a principal deputy assistant secretary of the Army, said the goal is to ultimately produce a commercial product that brings prices down.
The military currently pays about 40 cents a kilowatt-hour to power Arctic installations, a cost it hopes to cut significantly. The Army also expects the private sector to raise more money for the reactors than the federal government, helping to bring the delivered cost down to between 20 and 30 cents per kilowatt-hour.