Development and funding milestones for microreactor project
As it prepares to test a prototype of its Kaleidos microreactor at Idaho National Laboratory's DOME facility, Radiant Industries has secured USD100 million in Series C funding bringing the company's total venture funding to USD160 million.
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Radiant has completed the US Department of Energy's (DOE) front-end engineering and experiment design (FEEED) process for the Kaleidos Development Unit prototype microreactor, which it plans to deliver to the INL facility for testing in 2026, and Radiant co-founder and CEO Doug Bernauer said nuclear materials are on order ready for fuelled tests.
"We now have the staff, hardware, and runway to deliver at the DOME, and with production commitments of more than 10 reactors through 2030, we need to move as quickly as possible," Bernauer said. "Radiant's success over the next two years will not only benefit our customers but will be a win for advanced reactor developers and the industry as a whole."
The 1MW high-temperature gas-cooled portable microreactor, which will use a graphite core and TRISO (tri-structural isotropic) fuel, is one of three designs competitively selected by the DOE in 2023 to receive support for FEEED process ahead of testing in the DOME facility. Westinghouse has also completed the FEEED process for its eVinci microreactor design. Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation's Pylon microreactor was also selected to receive FEEED support.
Radiant's Chief Operating Officer Tori Shivanandan said completing the FEEED phase was a major milestone for the reactor. "Radiant was added to the lab's qualified supplier list, completed numerous design reviews, and submitted our Conceptual Safety Design Report, all while staying on-time and under-budget. We are excited to continue partnering with the lab going forward," she said.
DOME - for Demonstration of Microreactor Experiments - is housed in the repurposed containment structure of an experimental breeder reactor which operated from 1964-1994
Venture funding
The Kaleidos microreactor is expected to support broad applications ranging from replacing diesel generators in remote areas, to providing backup power to hospitals, military installations, and data centres, and as well as the FEEED support via the DOE's National Reactor Innovation Center, the company has received two DOE GAIN voucher awards to advance the design.
The Series C funding the company has now secured will primarily be used to complete Radiant's Kaleidos Development Unit, the reactor design that will be manufactured and sold to customers, the company said. Funds will also be used for factory siting and early construction efforts: the company expects its facilities to produce up to 50 microreactors per year.
In September, Radiant completed a demonstration of the passive cooldown system, which allows the reactor to safely shut down and cool off without power within 300 milliseconds of detecting an emergency condition.
