The U.S. Navy has selected Radiant to install its 1-megawatt Kaleidos nuclear microreactor at Naval Weapons Station Crane in Indiana, a commercial deployment intended to keep the base running independently of the regional power grid, with the Department of War aiming for operations by September 2028.
Radiant announced the selection on Oct. 20, about six weeks after the Department of War named Crane as the site for the Navy’s first shore-based microreactor without identifying a vendor. The reactor will be installed under the U.S. Army’s Janus Program, the Pentagon effort to place commercially owned and operated microreactors on military installations to sustain critical facilities during grid outages.
Kaleidos is a factory-built reactor producing 1 megawatt of electricity, designed to be transported by truck, ship or aircraft and set up without cooling water, major excavation, or extensive construction, according to Radiant. Each unit can run up to five years before refueling, with a planned service life of 20 years. At Crane, the reactor is meant to supply power independent of the regional grid for an installation where the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division, works on microelectronics, high-voltage systems and weapons.
Crane is the second military base Radiant has lined up under Janus this year. In August, the U.S. Army awarded contracts worth up to $2.2 billion to five reactor makers, with Radiant receiving the largest share, up to $750 million to deploy 15 Kaleidos units by 2030, starting with three reactors at Fort Benning, Georgia, that will back up Lawson Army Airfield and other critical facilities.
Before the Crane reactor can be deployed, the project must go through design refinement, prototype testing, environmental review, site preparation and coordination with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, with technical support from the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program. Radiant has not yet proven the design at full scale; the reactor is undergoing a year-long test campaign at the Idaho National Laboratory’s DOME facility, where the Department of Energy granted the company exclusive access after a competitive selection.
“The Janus Program was built from day one to deliver real, reliable hardware and systems to solve energy resilience challenges across all of the Services,” said Dr. Jeff Waksman, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment. “We are excited to partner with the Navy to place a Janus reactor at NWS Crane, and by doing so to deliver the state of Indiana its first advanced microreactor.”
“Our installations are foundational warfighting platforms and ensuring their resilience is essential to supporting the Fleet,” said Vice Adm. Brad Collins, Commander, Navy Installations Command. “By investing in advanced capabilities like this microreactor at Crane, we are providing our Shore infrastructure with the resources needed to sustain the mission and empower our warfighters.”
The Navy’s nuclear experience spans more than 7,500 reactor-years of operation and over 171 million miles under nuclear power without a reactor accident, according to the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, founded in 1948.
Sources: DVIDS News · DVIDS News