Tests are being planned on small, portable nuclear reactors that could be used to meet the nation's demand for "more abundant, affordable, and reliable power, according to the Department of Energy.
The department has announced a conditional agreement with Westinghouse and Radiant to conduct experiments on two trailer-sized microreactors at its Demonstration on Microreactor Experiment (DOME) facility at Idaho National Laboratory, reports Gizmodo Saturday, quoting a DOE statement.
The experiments will be the "first of their kind in the world," the department said.
The first DOME experiments are scheduled to begin as early as spring 2026, and to run for up to six months while testing the devices' efficiency and technological ability.
The Westinghouse microreactor, "eVinci," is being developed through support from the federal Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program, according to the department.
According to Westinghouse, the eVinci microreactor can generate up to five megawatts of electricity and operate for eight years or longer without needing to be refueled.
It uses heat pipes made of a specialized iron, chromium, and aluminum alloy to draw heat away from the reactor’s fuel, and since it does not need water for cooling, it can be used in places where other water-cooled reactors can't be used, eliminating the risk of coolant loss accidents.
The Kaleidos device, "Radiant," in comparison, is a 1.2-megawatt high-temperature gas-cooled microreactor that is being eyed as a potential replacement for diesel generators.
It is designed to be packaged in a single shipping container, which will make its rapid deployment to remote locations or for disaster relief locations possible.
The Radiant, which can last for up to five years before refueling, could be used to provide backup power for military installations, hospitals, data centers, and more.
Such reactors are not meant to power large cities, but to benefit localized sites in need of power sources.
As the average household in the United States uses about 30 kilowatt hours a day, or .03 megawatts of electricity, that means one Kaleidos device could supply several rural households, reports Gizmodo.
The microreactors are also said to be easy to assemble and transport by trains, trucks, or planes, which could allow them to be sent for backup power during blackouts caused by cyberattacks, or natural disasters.
"Microreactors will play a big role in expanding the use of nuclear power in the United States," Mike Goff, the acting assistant secretary for nuclear energy, said in the DOE statement. "These DOME experiments will test new reactor designs that will be counted on in the future to reliably power our homes, military bases, and mission-critical infrastructure."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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