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Lynchburg-based BWX Technologies announced Thursday it will build what it said is the first advanced nuclear microreactor in the United States as part of a government contract.
Dubbed “Project Pele,” the $300 million project will be handled by BWXT facilities in Lynchburg and Euclid, Ohio, the nuclear-services firm said in a news release.
BWXT will deliver a full-scale prototype of the microreactor to the Idaho National Laboratory for testing in 2024. The aim is to create a transportable microreactor that can provide power to the defense department in places that typically required fossil fuels and extensive supply lines; other potential applications include disaster response or generating power in remote locations.
“We are on a mission to design, build and test new nuclear technology to protect the environment while providing power, and we are thrilled with this competitively bid award after years of hard work by our design and engineering team,” Joe Miller, BWXT Advanced Technologies LLC president, said in the news release.
BWXT estimates the project will involve about 120 employees including roughly 40 skilled trades, engineers and other positions that will be hired to support this effort and other projects.
The microreactor will operate at a power level between 1 and 5 megawatts electrical, and will be powered by TRISO fuel, which BWXT said can withstand extreme heat and has low environmental risk. In November 2020, BWXT announced it had begun producing this type of fuel at its Lynchburg-area facility.
“The transportable design consists of multiple modules that contain the microreactor’s components in 20-foot long, ISO-compliant CONEX shipping containers,” BWXT said. “The reactor is designed to be safely and rapidly moved by road, rail, sea or air. The entire reactor system is designed to be assembled on-site and operational within 72 hours. Shut down, cool down, disconnection and removal for transport is designed to occur in less than seven days.”
The contract is through the U.S. Department of Defense’s Strategic Capabilities Office; testing and operation of the microreactor will be done under authorization by the U.S. Department of Energy, with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission providing regulatory and licensing information, BWXT said.
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