en.Wedoany.com Reported - On July 12, Italian nuclear energy startup Terra Innovatum Global signed a key procurement agreement with Chart Industries' Howden Turbo GmbH to supply steam turbines and generators for its SOLO micro modular nuclear reactor platform. This multi-year supply agreement stabilizes the company's hardware supply chain, bringing its modular architecture closer to actual production.
The SOLO micro modular reactor (MMR) is a 1 MWe (5 MWt) high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) designed for autonomous off-grid operation. Its primary technological innovation is the "precedent rule" approach, which uses commercially licensed off-the-shelf components to bypass regulatory delays. The reactor uses helium as a coolant and employs a solid heterogeneous composite moderator. It is designed to use standard low-enriched uranium (LEU) UO₂ pellets with zirconium alloy cladding, while also reserving future compatibility with LEU+ and HALEU fuels. The reactor can operate continuously for 15 years without refueling (extendable to 45 years through core replacement) and can be housed in a standard 40-foot container. Its 2.5-meter-thick concrete biological shield reduces radiation doses to below public limits, eliminating the need for large emergency planning zones.
The agreement secures long-term supply of critical secondary circuit equipment for Terra Innovatum's first-of-a-kind (FOAK) SOLO reactor. This FOAK reactor is planned for deployment in Illinois in 2027 and supports subsequent Nth-of-a-Kind (NOAK) global commercialization. Terra Innovatum has selected its FOAK site at Rock City Admiral Parkway Development in Illinois and has signed non-binding memoranda of understanding for up to 100 SOLO units.
Through this collaboration, Terra Innovatum and Howden have adapted and optimized the latter's proven steam turbine technology to meet the specific requirements of the SOLO reactor. The related work aligns in terms of performance, efficiency, and modular integration to support standardized deployment across sites. This partnership leverages Terra Innovatum's "fabless" supply chain model, which uses existing nuclear equipment manufacturers rather than building new in-house facilities to accelerate industrialization. Under its fabless manufacturing model, Terra Innovatum has reduced its core network from 130 potential suppliers to 30 contracted partners to ensure the supply of safety-critical nuclear-grade components for the SOLO platform. Its key Tier 1 suppliers include: ATB Riva Calzoni for reactor pressure vessels, structural components, and plant-level assembly logistics; Conuar for manufacturing critical fuel assemblies, zirconium alloy components, and reactor cooling tubes; Mersen has secured a long-lead first purchase order for nuclear-grade graphite blocks; Terra Innovatum also relies on existing licensed fuel facilities to supply standard low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel types that have been commercialized and regulatorily approved for over six decades; additionally, Italy's Boldrocchi provides high-pressure helium circulators, while U.S.-based Paragon Energy and TechSource provide nuclear engineering, safety verification, and instrumentation architecture support.
The partnership with Howden also supports a flexible system architecture that can integrate multiple SOLO units with a common Howden turbine platform, providing scalable output from 3 to 15 MWe for applications such as data centers, industrial facilities, and remote microgrids. These efforts aim to reduce deployment time and lifecycle costs through repeatable standardized production. Terra Innovatum expects that SOLO, conceptualized in 2018 and developed over six years of engineering, will be globally available within the next three years.
