US-based start-up NANO Nuclear Energy has been awarded a Direct to Phase II (D2P2) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract by AFWERX to explore the feasibility of deploying its KRONOS MMR Energy System at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling (JBAB) in Washington, DC. AFWERX is the innovation and venture arm of the US Air Force, and this project will be undertaken in collaboration with the 11th Civil Engineering Squadron.
The contract, valued at approximate $1.25m, will examine JBAB’s current and future energy demands, grid vulnerabilities, siting options, environmental considerations, and regulatory pathways for introducing a first-of-its-kind nuclear microreactor to a dense urban military installation. The effort directly addresses the Air Force’s priority to enhance energy resilience, reduce reliance on fragile or aging commercial grids, and enable secure, carbon-free baseload power.
The KRONOS MMR design is for a stationary, high-temperature gas-cooled microreactor designed to deliver 15 MWe (45 MWt), for multi-decade use across multiple industries and environments. Multiple KRONOS MMRs can be synergistically used to achieve any desired power level. Using TRISO fuel and passive helium cooling, the KRONOS MMR is being designed to shut down and remain in a safe state automatically without any human intervention or external power while seeking to ensure the ability to disconnect from the main grid and operate autonomously during outages or other disruptions. The system eliminates dependence on fuel convoys, is being designed to withstand cyber and physical threats, and enable continuous mission-critical operations.
The KRONOS MMR (formerly MMR Energy System) was acquired in January 2025 by NANO Nuclear from UNSC following its bankruptcy. NANO Nuclear in April signed a strategic collaboration with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) to construct the first research KRONOS micro modular reactor (MMR) on the university’s campus. NANO Nuclear’s other reactor designs include ZEUS, a solid core battery reactor, ODIN, a low-pressure coolant reactor, and the space focused, portable LOKI MMR (formerly USNC’s Pylon).
“Winning this D2P2 with AFWERX marks another milestone for NANO Nuclear and a validation of our belief that KRONOS MMR Energy System as a leading microreactor programme,” said NANO Nuclear CEO James Walker. “The KRONOS MMR represents a transformative potential for energy assurance for the Department of the Air Force (DAF), combining a design for resilience, safety, and carbon-free generation in one modular microreactor platform.”
NANO Nuclear Founder and Chairman Jay Yu said the AFWERX award highlights the growing demand for next-generation nuclear solutions. “Our KRONOS MMR is designed to protect critical missions in the most demanding environments, and this contract underscores NANO Nuclear’s emerging status as the leader in bringing microreactors to the defense ecosystem. We look forward to beginning work on this project at JBAB and thank the Air Force for the opportunity to do so.”
NANO Nuclear is directly supported on this effort by Stonegardens Advisory, a premier defence business development and strategy firm headquartered in New York City. Stonegardens, known guiding cutting-edge technologies into the defence ecosystem, worked alongside NANO Nuclear to position the KRONOS MMR reactor for this contract win within DAF’s innovation pipeline.
AFWERX, a directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), is the innovation arm of DAF. Its mission is to accelerate agile, affordable capability transitions by connecting the Department with innovators and entrepreneurs. Since 2019, AFWERX has executed more than 6,200 contracts worth over $4.7bn. AFRL is the primary scientific research and development centre for DAF. With over 12,500 personnel worldwide, AFRL leads the discovery, development, and integration of affordable technologies for air, space, and cyberspace forces.
This is not the first US defence contract for a micro reactor. In September 2024, the Department of Defense (DOD) broke ground on the Project Pele transportable microreactor project at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). Project Pele is a whole-of-government effort, with critical expertise provided by the Department of Energy (DOE), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), US Army Corps of Engineers USACE), NASA, and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). The contractor team is led by BWXT.
Also in 2024, the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), with the Department of the Army and DAF launched the Advanced Nuclear Power for Installations (ANPI) programme “to ensure US energy dominance”. The programme enables the design and build of fixed on-site microreactor nuclear power systems at select military installations “to support global operations across land, air, sea, space, and cyberspace”. In April, DOD selected eight companies to be eligible to demonstrate the ability “to deliver compliant, safe, secure, and reliable nuclear power”.
In June, US-based Oklo was issued a Notice of Intent to Award by the US Defense Logistics Agency Energy (DLA Energy), on behalf of DAF and DOD, to deploy its Aurora powerhouse at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska.
In August, two companies signed deals under the ANPI programme. California-based startup Radiant Nuclear signed an agreement to deliver a microreactor to a US Air Force military base in 2028. It was signed with the DIU at DAF. Radiant had previously received funding from DOD to evaluate the integration of microreactors at the Hill Air Force Base near Salt Lake City in Utah. X-energy Reactor Company signed an agreement with DIU and DAF to advance the development of its Xenith microreactor.
