US Air Force names potential SMR hosts

The Advanced Nuclear Power for Installations (ANPI) programme was launched in 2024 by the Defense Innovation Unit in collaboration with the Department of the Army and the Department of the Air Force. The partnership aims to deploy advanced, contractor-owned and operated nuclear microreactors on Department of the Air Force installations in partnership with commercial reactor companies. It is anticipated those companies will site, licence, construct, operate and decommission the microreactors.

The Buckley and Malmstrom bases were selected as preferred locations for an ANPI reactor due to their utility infrastructure, land availability and critical mission requirements, after extensive data and on-site analysis by subject matter experts.

In the coming months, the bases will be paired with an ANPI nuclear vendor technology that best fits the installation's energy needs, with an anticipated deployment date of 2030 or earlier, the Department of the Airforce said.

Microreactors are small nuclear reactors which can provide thermal energy that can be used to generate electricity and provide heat for industrial applications. Able to operate independently from the electric grid, if desired, and often designed to be transportable, they potentially offer energy resilience and reliability for military bases, and are particularly well-suited for powering and heating remote sites.

Last year, the Department of Defense selected eight technology developers - Antares Nuclear, Inc, BWXT Advanced Technologies LLC, General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems, Kairos Power, LLC, Oklo Inc, Radiant Industries Incorporated, Westinghouse Government Services, and X-Energy, LLC - to be eligible to seek funding as part of a programme to provide fixed on-site microreactors at military installations.

The ANPI programme is separate from the Department of the Air Force's microreactor pathfinder project at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska, which the department describes as a standalone effort demonstrating the feasibility and operational benefits of a microreactor at a single installation.

It is also separate from the Office of the Secretary of Defense Strategic Capabilities Office's Project Pele prototype transportable microreactor project.

US President Donald Trump's Executive Order 14299 - Deploying Advanced Nuclear Reactor Technologies for National Security - signed last year directed the Department of War to commence operation of an Army-regulated nuclear reactor at a domestic military installation no later than 30 September 2028. The US Department of the Army has selected nine sites for the potential deployment of microreactor power plants under the Janus Program.