The Military’s Mobile Nuclear Reactor Prototype Is Set To Begin Taking Shape
Project Pele is one potentially revolutionary, albeit controversial, answer to the military's growing battlefield energy requirements.
By Brett Tingley June 3, 2021
The War Zone
Project Pele
INL/Westinghouse
The Office of The Secretary of Defense (OSD) has requested $60 million dollars for Project Pele, which is aimed at developing a new, transportable nuclear microreactor to provide high-output, resilient power for a wide variety of Department of Defense (DOD) missions. The DOD hopes to begin working on a prototype reactor design, which will hopefully be able to eventually produce one to five megawatts of electricity and operate at peak power for at least three years, in the next fiscal year.
The request for funding for Project Pele is found in the Pentagon's proposed budget for the 2022 Fiscal Year, which was released on May 28, 2021. This is the first year that the Office of the Secretary of Defense has asked for money for this program through the larger Advanced Innovative Technologies line item. Previous funding for Pele, also known as the Micro Nuclear Reactor Program, had come through a separate Operational Energy Capability Improvement account in OSD's budget.
Westinghouse Electric
Concept art of Westinghouse Electric's DeVinci mobile reactor design, which was submitted to the Department of Defense in for Project Pele.
The budget documents say that the goals for Project Pele in the 2022 Fiscal Year are to "complete the design phase and prepare for construction of a 1-5 Megawatt electric transportable nuclear microreactor." In addition, it notes that "due to the nature of this project, specific applications and detailed plans are available at a higher classification level."
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/40914/the-militarys-mobile-nuclear-reactor-prototype-is-set-to-begin-taking-shape
