U.S. Deployable Energy Selected for Two Demonstrations of 1 MW Microreactor

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On August 28, U.S.-based Deployable Energy confirmed that it has been selected for the Nuclear Energy Launch Pad program under the U.S. National Reactor Innovation Center, and will conduct full-power demonstration of the Unity microreactor at Idaho National Laboratory, along with an offshore environment demonstration in partnership with Hornbeck Offshore. The Unity Nuclear Battery is a transportable micro fission reactor with a rated electrical output of 1 MW, and is not a traditional nuclear battery that generates electricity through radioisotope decay.

The full-power demonstration will be conducted at the nuclear energy test facilities at Idaho National Laboratory, covering system performance, equipment integration, control systems, safety functions, and operational procedures. The technical and operational data generated by the project will be used for subsequent regulatory licensing and commercial deployment assessments, and Deployable Energy plans to invite the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to observe the tests.

The offshore demonstration will validate the transport, installation, system integration, power generation, and operational procedures of the Unity microreactor under nearshore operating conditions, with testing covering vessel space and payload constraints, offshore logistics, environmental conditions, and safety requirements. Hornbeck Offshore will provide expertise in offshore equipment operations and fleet applications, and the demonstration results will be used to assess the suitability of the microreactor for scenarios such as offshore service vessels, offshore platforms, power barges, and floating data centers.

The two parties signed a memorandum of understanding on August 17 and have established a joint working group to advance research on vessel integration, economics, licensing pathways, financing, and business models. The Unity microreactor features a modular design with a rated electrical output of 1 MW per unit and a designed refueling interval exceeding 5 years, and can expand power supply capacity through multi-unit configurations. Actual deployment will still require completion of technical validation, commercial assessment, regulatory approval, and the signing of formal agreements.

On June 30, the Unity test reactor completed zero-power criticality testing at Idaho National Laboratory. The test used low-enriched uranium dioxide fuel with a uranium-235 enrichment of 4.95%, with a loading of approximately 536 kg. During the test, both thermal and electrical power were zero, and no sustained power operation or electricity generation was conducted. The full-power demonstration and offshore environment demonstration selected this time will respectively validate the reactor's power operation capability and offshore deployment conditions.