A team of former SpaceX engineers is working on the development of the “world's first portable, zero-emissions power source” that can be utilized to bring power to remote areas and also permits quick installation of new units in populated areas. In 2020, the ream obtained one million two hundred thousand dollars in funding from angel investors to assist their startup Radiant to develop portable nuclear microreactors. These new reactors are aimed at both military and commercial applications.
The Radiant microreactor is still in the protype phase. It generates over one megawatt which is sufficient to power about one thousand homes for up to eight years. The new microreactor can be easily transported by air, sea, and road. This means that these microreactors can supply affordable energy to communities which do not have easy access to renewable energy. This will allow them to reduce their use of fossil fuels.
Doug Bernauer is CEO and a founder of Radiant founder. He is a former SpaceX engineer who worked on the development of energy sources for a future Martian colony. During his research on the development of microreactors for Mars missions, he realized that such microreactors could also provide in a flexible, affordable power source on Earth. He and two other SpaceX engineers left the space company and founded Radiant. He said, “a lot of the microreactors being developed are fixed location. Nobody has a [commercial] system yet, so there’s kind of a race to be the first.”
Radiant announced that in 2020, it had received two provisional patents for its portable reactor technology. One of the patents was for a process that reduces the time and expense required to refuel their microreactor. The other patent improves efficiency in transferring heat from the core of their reactor. The microreactor will utilize an advanced particle fuel that cannot melt down. It is also able to withstand higher temperatures that conventional nuclear fuel. The microreactor is cooled with helium. This reduces the corrosion and contamination risks that are associated with the water coolant used in most operating power reactors. Radiate has signed a contract with Battelle Energy Alliance to carry out tests on its portable microreactor technology at the Idaho National Laboratory.
Jess Gehin, Ph.D. is Chief Scientist, Nuclear Science & Technology Directorate at the INL. “In some areas of the world, reliance on diesel fuel is untenable, and solar and wind power are either unavailable or impractical. Clean, safe nuclear microreactors are emerging as the best alternative for these environments.”
Radiant’s microreactor can be utilized in remote locations such as arctic villages and isolated military bases that would have had to rely on fossil fuel-powered generators. The portable microreactor is better for the environment and more practical because it does not have to rely on constant shipments of fuel. The clear fuel used for the Radiant microreactor can last more than four years. If things go well for the Radiant test campaign, portable nuclear power might become a reality. Perhaps the portable microreactor might replace older methods of supplying power at many remote locations.