A recent delivery of tri-structural isotropic (TRISO) particle nuclear fuel to the Idaho National Laboratory’s (INL’s) Transient Reactor Test Facility marks a major milestone for Project Pele, INL said.
Pele is a 1.5 MWe high-temperature gas-cooled demonstration microreactor for the Department of Defence (DOD – now renamed Department of War) Strategic Capabilities Office. The technology is expected to begin producing electricity in 2028.
DOD broke ground on the Project Pele transportable microreactor at INL in September 2024. According to DOD, the prototype reactor facility will be transported in 20-foot shipping containers and tested at the lab. The reactor will then be moved by truck for placement at the complex … to conduct safety reviews and initial planning and testing. It will operate for three years without refuelling.
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, led by BWXT, also includes critical roles played by Northrop Grumman, Rolls Royce Liberty Works, and Torch Technologies.
The reactor is expected to operate for a minimum of three years at INL and will help demonstrate the use of clean, reliable, and transportable nuclear power to help meet the increasing energy demands at military bases across the country.
The TRISO fuel is made from uranium, carbon and oxygen, formed into a small kernel. This kernel is coated in multiple layers – including silicon carbide – that make it extremely durable under high heat, radiation, and corrosive conditions. Thousands of these poppy seed-sized particles are combined into compact fuel forms used in advanced reactors such as the one being developed under Project Pele.
“This milestone reflects years of dedicated effort by the Office of Nuclear Energy’s Advanced Gas Reactor TRISO Fuel Qualification Program to fabricate and qualify TRISO fuel using world-class capabilities at INL’s Advanced Test Reactor and Materials and Fuels Complex, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory – capabilities that exist nowhere else in the world,” said John Wagner, INL director. “That investment is now enabling Project Pele to move forward with the speed and confidence our national security demands to accelerate American innovation and demonstrate the leadership that will define this era of nuclear energy.”
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy Mike Goff said: We’re thrilled to see the Project Pele microreactor design continue to make forward progress. This is a great example of how we can accelerate innovation in advanced nuclear fuels and technologies through collaborative partnerships.”
David Schurr, the Strategic Capabilities Office’s project manager for Pele said completion of the production and delivery of the first batch of TRISO fuel is an important milestone for Project Pele. “It further accelerates the administration’s objectives to enable private sector investment, innovation, development and use of advanced nuclear technologies,” he noted.
“This is the first TRISO microreactor fuel delivered at its final destination,” said Jeff Waksman, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment. “Project Pele is a transformational leap toward Gen-IV nuclear power, and the Army’s Janus Program will follow on to deliver affordable, reliable, commercial nuclear power to ensure that our critical infrastructure has power even if the electric grid is disrupted.”
