Nuclear microreactors are factory-built, truck-transportable reactors generating 1-20 MW, designed for remote locations, military bases, and disaster response. Westinghouse's eVinci uses heat pipe technology for passive cooling and can operate for years without refueling. BWXT is developing the BWXT Advanced Nuclear Reactor (BANR) under a DOD contract for military applications. The NRC published SECY-25-0052 addressing Nth-of-a-Kind microreactor licensing.
Microreactors solve the energy problem in places where grid power doesn't exist. US military forward operating bases currently rely on fuel convoys — a major logistical vulnerability that costs lives. Remote Arctic communities, mining operations, and disaster zones need reliable power that solar and wind can't provide. A microreactor can deliver megawatts of power from a shipping container.
The DOD's Project Pele demonstrated a prototype at Idaho National Laboratory, making the US military potentially the first customer for microreactor technology. Success in military applications would create a path to commercial deployment for remote industrial sites, data centers, and developing-world electrification.