Russia’s National Research Nuclear University MEPhI, the Bolshoy MEPhI consortium and Rosatom are working on a project to design ultra-small nuclear reactors to provide energy to data processing centres, MEPhI Vice-Rector, President of the Bolshoy MEPhI consortium Valery Romanyuk told RIA Novosti.
“We have a subprogramme to create a project for ultra-small nuclear reactors as independent power sources for data centres from 5-50 MWe,” Romanyuk said on the sidelines of the 29th St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF-2026).
The ultra-small reactor currently being designed by the Bolshoy MEPhI consortium and Rosatom is conceptualized as an innovative, highly automated micro-SMR (Small Modular Reactor) engineered specifically for computing infrastructure. While specific classified schematic details remain proprietary, the engineering parameters disclosed by Romanyuk outline three distinct pillars of the reactor’s design.
The unit targets a power envelope of 5-50 MWe, bridging the gap between traditional research pool reactors (such as the 2.5 MW IRT MEPhI educational reactor) and commercial small modular transportable designs (such as the RITM-200N). It is designed as a decentralised, localised energy capsule and functions essentially as a nuclear battery installed on-site, isolating data centres from volatile regional power grids.
Unlike conventional water-cooled plants, these micro-reactors leverage high-temperature gas or liquid metal cooling loops. High operational temperatures are required to maximize the efficiency of compact, closed-loop gas turbines. The thermal output is specifically configured to match the cooling load profiles of data processing centres. This allows for tri-generation capabilities where waste heat from the reactor can be transformed to drive adsorption chillers for the computing servers.
The design explicitly removes the need for large on-site engineering crews. A localised artificial intelligence management system monitors and dynamically alters the reactor’s core neutron flux based on immediate computing demands. A core aspect of the design process relies on MEPhI’s advanced virtual nuclear reactor modelling and digital twins to ensure the physical design adjusts passively without mechanical latency.
The Big MEPhI consortium is a platform for joint work between the university and large companies that are interested in developing complex projects in the nuclear, quantum and information fields.
