According to a report by Financial Associated Press on January 9 (Editor Zhao Hao),$Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB.US)$Under the leadership of Westinghouse, nuclear energy companies are attempting to shrink the size of nuclear reactors to that of a shipping container, developing "micro-reactors" and promoting their commercialization.

Westinghouse describes its heat pipe cooled eVinci micro-reactor as a "nuclear battery" that can provide multifunctional and scalable energy for applications in remote areas, mining operations, data centers, defense facilities, etc., replacing diesel and RBOB Gasoline generators currently used in these fields.

Jon Ball, president of the eVinci micro-reactor project, told the media, "The initial idea was that some segments of the economy are difficult to decarbonize, especially remote communities that rely on expensive diesel. However, interest is indeed growing, and we believe this will be an important area of growth."

In recent years, to fulfill climate commitments, many governments around the world and large technology companies are seeking clean energy, and the nuclear energy industry has also experienced a revival. Currently, there are dozens of projects developing small modular reactors, with a maximum power generation capacity of up to 300 megawatts.

In comparison, the output power of micro-reactors is much smaller, with a maximum of only 20 megawatts, but it is sufficient to power about 20,000 households. Moreover, these reactors operate more like a large Battery and do not require a control room or staff; they only need to be transported to a location, plugged in, and can run for years, then returned to the manufacturer for fuel replenishment.

In December of last year, Westinghouse's design received approval from the USA nuclear regulatory agency. The reactor has very few moving parts; it uses pipes filled with liquid sodium to extract heat from nuclear fuel and transfer it to the air, and then this heated air can run turbines or be pumped into heating systems. The official website states that the reactor uses "TRISO" fuel, which can withstand extreme temperatures without melting.

Two months ago, Westinghouse signed an agreement with UK startup CORE POWER. The press release stated that the eVinci micro-reactor design is well-suited for floating nuclear power plants (FNPP) because this reactor can achieve reliable long-term electricity generation almost anywhere.

Core Power executives told the media they hope the two companies can start signing orders in 2027 and 2028, "Westinghouse is applying for an operating license from the USA Nuclear Regulatory Commission as scheduled... We believe 2029 is the best time, which should be the earliest market launch day."

Ball further added that the two target markets for the eVinci micro-reactor are datacenters and the Oil & Gas industry, including onshore and offshore. He stated that being able to run multiple micro-reactors in parallel would make datacenters more resilient than relying on a single energy source.

Professor Ian Farnan from the University of Cambridge believes that micro-reactors could also be utilized in the mining industry, particularly for extracting cobalt, manganese, and other critical minerals that are usually located in remote areas. "This will change the way mines are operated. Currently, we use diesel, and logistics costs can make some mines unviable."

Nasdaq listed company$NANO Nuclear Energy (NNE.US)$Has hired Farnan to help design the low-pressure coolant portable micro-reactor "ODIN," with plans to launch it in the market by 2031.

Meanwhile, the listed company$BWX Technologies (BWXT.US)$has already been building nuclear reactors for the US Navy submarines and aircraft carriers. Last September, X-energy obtained$Amazon (AMZN.US)$Investors such as Citadel obtained financing of 0.5 billion USD.

It is worth mentioning that BWXT and X-energy were selected for the 'Bailey Program' proposed by the US Department of Defense in 2019—allowing portable nuclear reactors to be flexibly deployed with troops on the battlefield, which can reduce the reliance on large amounts of fossil fuels and compress the scale of logistics transportation troops.

X-energy CEO J Clay Sell stated that the market for micro-reactors is 'still emerging'. He pointed out that the market must reach a larger scale in order to achieve economic benefits, and if the market scale is small, economic benefits will become more challenging.

Core Power executives believe that the goal of micro-reactors is to generate power at a price of 100 to 150 USD per megawatt-hour (equivalent to 0.1 to 0.15 USD per kilowatt-hour), 'which is not competitive on the power grid.'

'But for ports, docks, petrochemical facilities, island regions, and remote areas, this is very competitive, because the cost of bringing diesel and RBOB Gasoline into these places is prohibitively high.'

However, Ronan Tanguy, head of safety and licensing projects at the World Nuclear Association, stated that there are issues regarding how to safely construct, transport, and operate micro-reactors. He pointed out that many existing reactor regulations do not apply to micro-reactors.

Tanguy believes that the International Atomic Energy Agency may issue high-level safety standards, which are often incorporated into national regulations, but this will not be achieved quickly because a lot of work needs to be done.

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Editor/ping