[The good old days...]
Posted on 04/18/2022 9:37:30 AM PDT by BenLurkin
Under the new program, the Defense Department will build a 1-5 MegaWatts nuclear microreactor at Idaho National Laboratory for a three-year (minimum) test operational period. It will be “the first electricity-generating Generation IV nuclear reactor built in the United States,” the Defense Department said in a statement. “The first electricity-generating Generation IV nuclear reactor demonstrated in the world was the HTR-PM, a Chinese reactor, which first reached criticality in September 2021.”
“The DOD uses approximately 30 terawatt-hours of electricity per year and more than 10 million gallons of fuel per day—levels that are only expected to increase due to anticipated electrification of the non-tactical vehicle fleet and maturation of future energy-intensive capabilities,” it reads. “A safe, small, transportable nuclear reactor would address this growing demand with a resilient, carbon-free energy source that would not add to the DOD’s fuel needs, while supporting mission-critical operations in remote and austere environments.”
Mobile nuclear reactors today shouldn’t be compared to Chernobyl or other big nuclear disasters from decades past. But, in a battlefield context, they could still be dangerous. As Kuperman argued, a missile targeting a mobile microreactor could result in radioactive material getting out. And the reactor can’t be buried, because it needs passive cooling in the event of a temperature buildup.
But the idea has taken on new relevance and is finding renewed support, said Paul Roege, a retired Army colonel who managed a $150 million program for DARPA examining the concept.
There’s a new appreciation in the United States government that small nuclear reactors could help the United States maintain a long-term presence in the Asia- Pacific region, where the military must operate in much greater numbers to deter China from launching an invasion of Taiwan.
(Excerpt) Read more at defenseone.com ...
Submarine reactors are certainly smaller than typical power plant reactors, but one thing submarine reactors have going for them is a plentiful supply of cooling water.
I used to live on a nuclear submarine. Most submarine reactors are substantially larger than 5 MW. My submarine had a 100MW plant. Most are substantially smaller than that now however but much larger than what this article is talking about.
Patrick Henry SSBN 599
What powers a nuke sub?
[The good old days...]
yes or one for each house. eventually.
They will be testing one at Eielson AFB near North Pole, AK. Really, if this works, it could be huge. For real.
The link is broken for me... 😞
Scale down a nuke sub reactor. How hard would that be?
Why can’t they just use the reactor out of a nuclear sub?
hisutton.com/NR-1.html
Or this...
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