In a major milestone for modular nuclear power on the way to the mainstream, the US Department of the Air Force has issued a Notice of Intent to Award (NOITA) to Oklo that may lead to the construction and operation of a military reactor in Fairbanks, Alaska.
Small nuclear reactors yielding less than 50 MW that can be mass produced in factories and shipped to where needed have very much been in the news in recent years. They promise a new way to provide heat and electricity that is cheaper than current nuclear power plants, being faster to build, easily scalable, and inherently safer.
Such reactors are also a power source that's much easier to set up in remote locations, which is why the US military is so interested in them. Presently, the Air Force wants to test that concept at Eielson Air Force Base (AFB), located 26 miles (42 km) southeast of Fairbanks, Alaska, as a way of replacing the tonnes of coal that regularly have to be shipped in to power the facility.
The latest agreement was made in coordination with the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Energy Office and is not a firm contract, so many technical details about what the Alaskan reactors would look like are unknown. However, it is in line with American legislation and executive orders going back to 2019, as well as the current administration's commitment to increasing US energy production and promoting nuclear energy in general, so it is a significant advancement.
If a contract is awarded, it will be for a 30-year power fixed-price purchase agreement after securing an NRC license that will include construction, operation, maintenance, and decommissioning of the reactor.
Based on previous designs, the new demonstration reactor will have an output of about 5 MW and provide part of the base's 35-MW requirements, though the modular design allows for easy scalability by adding more modules if need be. The reactor would provide heat as well as light, which is important in Alaska, where it can reach minus 50 °F (-45 °C).
The type of reactor built will depend on the kind of nuclear fuel selected. The main candidates are some form of high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU), with uranium-235 concentrations higher than that found in conventional commercial power reactors, or TRISO (Tristructural-isotropic) pebbles, where each spherical uranium particle is encapsulated by multiple protective layers of carbon and ceramics. Both of these share the ability to operate for up to 15 years without refueling.
"This microreactor pilot could position Alaska and the nation at the forefront of energy innovation – leading us to a new era of safe, secure, and reliable energy," said Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink. "It has the potential to shape future approaches to powering national security infrastructure, especially in the Arctic –where energy reliability is vital in the face of evolving threats."
Source: US Air Force
