Project Pele

Project Pele is a project of the US Department of Defense to build a deployable nuclear power reactor[1] for use in United States Armed Forces remote operating bases.

In 2020 the project was listed as relevant to lunar and Mars missions.[2]: 15  presumably for surface operations rather than rocket propulsion.

Initial contracts

On 9 March 2020, the Department awarded three development contracts,[3] to:

The two-year engineering design competition is for a small nuclear micro-reactor in the 1-5 megawatt (MWe) power range.[1]

Development

Out of the initial three contracts - BWX Technologies, Westinghouse Government Services and X-energy - only BWX Technologies and X-energy were selected in 2021 to develop a final design for a prototype mobile microreactor under the Project Pele initiative,[4] and then in June 2022 BWXT was awarded a contract by the US Department of Defense (DOD) Strategic Capabilities Office (SCO) to build the prototype and deliver it by 2024. The estimated cost of this prototype is approximately 300 million USD.[5] In December 2022, BWXT started the TRISO fuel production at BWX Technologies Inc's Lynchburg facility in Virginia.[6]

The envisaged reactor is intended to be deployable by road, rail, aircraft, or sea. It will be capable of quickly being brought on load, and be inherently safe.[lower-alpha 1] Information from: US Army Futures Command

See also

Notes
  1. It will use TRISO fuel[7] (2022)—Idaho National Laboratory will assemble a Project Pele transportable nuclear reactor, and test it for up to three years;[8] if test performance warrants it, this type of reactor will generate a nominal 2 MWe (1 to 5 MWe— megaWatts, electrical) for up to 3 years, for isolated areas such as the Arctic, or for an island;[9] the reactor will be gas-cooled;[10][11][12] the fuel will be high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU);[13] experiments for handling the nuclear fuel will be performed at Idaho National Labs Transient Reactor Test Facility (TREAT), or the Hot Fuel Examination Facility (HFEF) during the three year test period.[12] Mobile Microreactor startup testing at the Materials and Fuels Complex (MFC), or at the Critical Infrastructure Test Range Complex (CITRC).[12] Assembling, operating, and disassembling, and transporting the Mobile Microreactor at the MFC, or at the CITRC.[12] Transporting the disassembled mobile microreactor to temporary storage at the Radioactive Scrap and Waste Facility (RSWF), or at the Outdoor Radioactive Storage Area (ORSA).[12] Potentially conducting mobile microreactor and spent nuclear fuel post-irradiation examination (PIE) and disposition at Idaho National Lab.[12] Produce reliable electrical power on an electrical grid that is separate from the public utility grid at Idaho National Lab.[12]

References
  1. Pentagon awards contracts to design mobile nuclear reactor Aaron Mehta, DefenseNews, 2020-03-09
  2. A New Era for Deep Space Exploration and Development July 2020
  3. DOD Awards Contracts for Development of a Mobile Microreactor, media release, US Department of Defense, 2020-03-09
  4. "BWXT and X-Energy selected to develop Project Pele mobile microreactor : New Nuclear - World Nuclear News". www.world-nuclear-news.org. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  5. "BWX Technologies selected to build Project Pele microreactor : New Nuclear - World Nuclear News". www.world-nuclear-news.org. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  6. "BWXT starts fuel production for microreactor : Uranium & Fuel - World Nuclear News". world-nuclear-news.org. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  7. Sydney J. Freedberg Jr. (8 April 2020) New TRISO Nuclear Mini-Reactors Will Be Safe: Program Manager DoD project: 3 competing designs (1-year contracts, with a possible 1 year follow-on) for 1 prototype of an inherently safe reactor (no meltdowns). Fuel rods are composed of spheres: three layers of uranium, carbon, silicon carbide—TRISO has been tested to be safe at 3200°F, hotter than the melting point of steel. A molten salt reactor is a possibility.
  8. Jaspreet Gill (13 Apr 2022) Idaho National Labs to build Pentagon’s mobile 'nuclear microreactor'
  9. Todd South (15 Apr 2022) Pentagon to build nuclear microreactors to power far-flung bases Ft Greeley
  10. DoD SCO (13 Apr 2022) DoD to Build Project Pele Mobile Microreactor and Perform Demonstration at Idaho National Laboratory
  11. Jeff Waksman (Mar 2020) Project Pele Overview
  12. DoD Office of the Secretary, SCO (15 Apr 2022) Record of Decision for the Final Construction and Demonstration of a Prototype Mobile Microreactor Environmental Impact Statement
  13. BWX Technologies (BWXT) (9 Jun 2022) BWXT to Build First Advanced Microreactor in United States for Project Pele
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