Industry Accomplishment

Radiant receives first TRISO fuel shipment at INL’s DOME facility, clearing path to full-power, full-temperature testing

Radiant, a leading developer of advanced nuclear technologies, received its first tranche of nuclear fuel at the National Reactor Innovation Center’s Demonstration of Microreactor Experiments (DOME) facility located at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The tri-structural ISOtropic (TRISO)-fuel was fabricated by Standard Nuclear in Oak Ridge, Tenn., to Radiant's specifications earlier this year. It will be used to power Radiant’s Kaleidos reactor to conduct a full-power, full-temperature test this summer – kicking-off months of rigorous testing and validation, to support manufacturing and customer delivery by 2028.

Launching into tomorrow: NRIC guides new era of research and deployment

As part of Idaho National Laboratory, NRIC has a variety of test beds, programs, and initiatives designed to take nuclear technologies from concept to commercialization, including the Demonstration of Microreactor Experiments (DOME) test bed, now officially open for business (see p. 44 for more on DOME).

Centrus, Oklo HALEU agreement to support reactor deployment

US enrichment company Centrus is to supply Oklo with high-assay low-enriched uranium to power up to five Aurora powerhouses for multiple years, with deliveries scheduled to begin in 2029.

In a first for advanced nuclear: Siemens Energy turbine package advances for Oklo’s Aurora-INL

The steam turbine and generator package for Oklo’s first Aurora powerhouse at Idaho National Laboratory (INL)—a pioneering application of a commercially established industrial turbine platform at the heart of a first-of-a-kind advanced reactor’s conventional island—is in active production at Siemens Energy’s facilities in Görlitz and Erfurt, Germany.

Department of Energy celebrates second advanced reactor achieving criticality

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) celebrated another historic milestone in America’s nuclear renaissance. DOE Reactor Pilot Program participant Valar Atomics’ advanced reactor design, Ward 250, successfully completed a zero-power fueled criticality demonstration. The experiment took place at the Utah San Rafael Energy Lab in Emery County, Utah, and marks the first DOE authorized reactor built outside of a national laboratory.

Deployable Energy receives final safety approval ahead of criticality

Deployable Energy announced approval of its Documented Safety Analysis (DSA) by the U.S. Department of Energy earlier this month, representing another regulatory milestone before proceeding to criticality.

Oklo secures DOE PDSA approval

Oklo announced that the Department of Energy’s Idaho Operations Office had approved the preliminary documented safety analysis (PDSA) for the company’s first deployment of its Aurora Powerhouse, which is currently under construction at Idaho National Laboratory.

Idaho National Lab’s historic milestone: Antares R1 Mark-0 reactor project breaks ground of 50-year legacy

For the first time in nearly 50 years, the laboratory is moving toward the deployment of a new reactor project, the Antares R1 Mark-0. It is a moment that forces us to reconcile the ghosts of mid-century nuclear ambition with the urgent, high-stakes requirements of a 21st-century power grid.

Antares Mark-0 becomes first advanced nuclear reactor to achieve criticality under DOE Pilot Program

Antares Nuclear Inc.’s Mark-0—a sodium heat-pipe-cooled microreactor fueled by high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) tri-structural isotropic (TRISO) fuel compacts—has achieved zero-power criticality at Idaho National Laboratory’s (INL’s) Reactor and Critical Experiment (RACE) facility, becoming the first advanced reactor to reach that milestone under the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Reactor Pilot Program.

Antares achieves initial criticality of a privately developed advanced reactor under DOE pilot program

Antares today announced that its Mark-0 microreactor achieved initial criticality at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) under U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) authorization — making Antares the first private company to bring an advanced reactor to criticality under the DOE Reactor Pilot Program. The demonstration was conducted in partnership with DOE, INL, and BWX Technologies, Inc. (BWXT), with integration and observation support from the U.S. Army.