From military bases to the moon: where will microreactors be deployed first?

What are the U.S. military’s plans for deploying microreactors?

In a major step toward field-ready nuclear energy, the U.S. Department of Defense is advancing Project Pele, a transportable microreactor developed to provide 1 to 5 megawatts of continuous power to forward operating bases and remote defense installations. Engineered by BWX Technologies and supported by the Department’s Strategic Capabilities Office, Project Pele is currently being constructed at Idaho National Laboratory with an anticipated operational window by 2026.

Project Pele is the Pentagon’s most ambitious energy modernization effort in decades. It aims to reduce logistical dependence on diesel fuel convoys, which have historically proven costly and vulnerable in combat zones. Unlike traditional generators, the microreactor can deliver weeks of resilient, autonomous power without refueling. Officials have positioned the program as a foundational test for expeditionary energy systems in future deployments, especially under contested logistics environments.

Institutional observers within the Department of Defense view Pele not only as a technical experiment but as a strategic prototype. If successful, future procurement rounds could involve microreactor fleets for military resilience, cyber-hardened base operations, and autonomous off-grid deployments.

Why are Arctic and remote regions prime candidates for first deployment?

The commercial case for microreactors is perhaps strongest in remote and Arctic regions, where energy access remains prohibitively expensive, logistically complex, and carbon-intensive. Across northern Canada, Alaska, and Greenland, isolated communities and mining operations currently rely on diesel barges and seasonal energy storage strategies, leaving them exposed to fuel volatility and climate risk.

In this context, microreactors such as Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation’s Micro Modular Reactor and Westinghouse Electric Company’s eVinci are gaining attention. The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission is already advancing pre-licensing reviews of Arctic-focused projects, with Ultra Safe Nuclear targeting Chalk River Laboratories for its first operational MMR unit by 2026. Discussions are also underway with Canadian territories and Indigenous-led infrastructure boards to explore modular deployments.

Idaho National Laboratory has identified Arctic deployment as a high-priority scenario in its DOE-funded microreactor roadmap. The facility’s MARVEL and NRIC-DOME testbeds are explicitly designed to simulate off-grid and harsh-climate conditions. If these demonstrations prove successful, commercial rollouts could begin in the latter half of the decade.

Could NASA use microreactors to power the moon and Mars?

Beyond Earth, NASA is investing heavily in microreactor-based surface power systems to support future crewed lunar and Martian exploration. Under the Fission Surface Power program, the agency is working alongside the U.S. Department of Energy and private contractors to deliver a 40-kilowatt reactor designed for lunar deployment in the early 2030s.

Westinghouse Electric Company was awarded a key Phase 2 contract in January 2025 to develop the conceptual design of the lunar reactor, building on its eVinci platform. The system must be compact, launch-compatible, and capable of autonomous operation under extreme lunar night conditions—where solar panels are inoperative for up to 14 days.

This effort builds upon the earlier Kilopower project, including the 2018 KRUSTY test, which successfully demonstrated scalable fission for off-planet applications. NASA officials have identified microreactors as essential for base-level energy continuity on the Moon and Mars, especially for life support, research labs, and in-situ resource utilization systems such as water electrolysis and 3D printing with lunar regolith.

From an aerospace innovation standpoint, success in lunar deployment could open commercial opportunities for microreactors in orbital platforms, asteroid bases, and Martian colonization support systems.

Which companies are moving fastest toward pilot deployment?

Among the key players, BWX Technologies is furthest along in manufacturing a field-deployable reactor through its work on Project Pele. The reactor, which fits within standard ISO containers, is designed to be delivered by truck, rail, or aircraft and assembled on-site within 72 hours. While teardown time remains a constraint, military insiders believe these systems will become more modular and autonomous over time.

Westinghouse Electric Company continues to lead on both Earth-based and space-qualified platforms. Its eVinci reactor is currently being prepared for test deployment at Idaho National Laboratory under the NRIC-DOME program, with design features tailored for rapid deployment, low maintenance, and off-grid operation in both defense and commercial contexts.

Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation is advancing its Micro Modular Reactor with a near-term commercial pilot slated for deployment at Chalk River Laboratories in Canada. That project, expected to go online by 2026, will be one of the world’s first commercial microreactor deployments, supplying heat and electricity to industrial and research facilities in a remote location.

Together, these three developers represent a triangulated push across military, commercial-industrial, and space applications, each progressing through different but complementary regulatory frameworks and demonstration pathways.

What barriers remain for microreactor commercialization?

Despite growing interest, several key challenges could delay widespread microreactor rollout. Regulatory uncertainty remains a core issue. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is currently drafting the long-awaited Part 53 licensing framework intended to accommodate advanced reactors, including microreactors. While intended to be more flexible, stakeholder feedback suggests further simplification is needed to prevent project bottlenecks.

Fuel availability is another pressing challenge. Most leading designs rely on high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU), which is not yet available at commercial scale in the United States. The Department of Energy is attempting to bridge this gap via Centrus Energy’s enrichment program, but industry participants warn that insufficient supply could slow early deployments.

From a technical standpoint, reliability under extreme temperature conditions, long-term radiation containment, and ease of field maintenance all remain key performance questions. The ability to restart or shut down reactors remotely in unstaffed locations is also a high-priority concern, especially for military and space applications.

Institutional sentiment suggests that as microreactor pilots generate operational data over the next 24 months, licensing timelines, insurance frameworks, and inter-agency collaboration will become more predictable. Private investment interest will likely hinge on successful pilot evaluations and the resolution of logistical and regulatory bottlenecks.

Why microreactors could become critical to future off-grid energy systems

Microreactors offer a compelling convergence of compact design, high thermal output, and long-duration autonomous operation—features that make them uniquely suited to serve as the energy backbone for a wide spectrum of critical, decentralized applications. Unlike conventional nuclear plants or intermittent renewables, microreactors provide uninterrupted, high-grade thermal and electric power in a modular, factory-built format. This combination of reliability and portability unlocks deployment opportunities in geographies and sectors where traditional grid expansion is either unfeasible or prohibitively expensive.

In remote military outposts, for example, microreactors such as BWX Technologies’ Project Pele system are being developed to reduce dependence on vulnerable fuel convoys and to enable more secure, self-sufficient base operations. In Arctic regions and other high-latitude zones, Westinghouse Electric Company’s eVinci reactor and Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation’s Micro Modular Reactor are positioned to support mining operations, Indigenous communities, and research installations with stable electricity and process heat—without the need for seasonal diesel imports or massive energy storage infrastructure.

In extraterrestrial applications, NASA’s lunar energy program is advancing microreactors as foundational assets for permanent bases under the Artemis program. Space-qualified designs under the Fission Surface Power project are expected to supply vital life-support energy, regolith processing capabilities, and water electrolysis support—functions that solar arrays cannot perform during long lunar nights or Martian dust storms.

On the commercial front, multiple private-sector partnerships are accelerating validation cycles in anticipation of broader market adoption. Westinghouse’s engagement with CORE POWER and space agencies, BWX Technologies’ government-backed military production contracts, and Ultra Safe Nuclear’s Canadian industrial pilot all signal multi-vector deployment interest. These collaborations span defense logistics, space energy, and remote industrial operations—each representing billions in potential infrastructure investment over the next decade.

Institutional sentiment is already shifting. Defense procurement offices are allocating budget for test deployments, and early manufacturing is underway for prototypes. Energy analysts believe that once key milestones—such as the delivery of the eVinci test reactor to Idaho National Laboratory and operational start-up of the MMR at Chalk River—are reached, broader investor enthusiasm will follow. Importantly, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s proposed Part 53 rulemaking could offer a more flexible, fit-for-purpose licensing pathway tailored for modular nuclear designs, reducing regulatory friction that has long hindered innovation.

Another critical enabler will be the availability of high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU), which is required by most leading microreactor designs. The current supply chain, led by Centrus Energy under DOE contracts, is still ramping toward commercial volumes. Should federal and private-sector coordination succeed in scaling HALEU availability, developers will be in a much stronger position to fulfill domestic and export orders.

Investor sentiment is increasingly focused on upstream and adjacent opportunities. Suppliers of TRISO fuel, containerized transport infrastructure, advanced thermal storage systems, and autonomous monitoring software for microreactor operations are all seeing rising interest from institutional and venture capital circles. As proof-of-performance data emerges from DOE testbeds and defense field trials, these second-order players may become some of the earliest public beneficiaries of the microreactor economy.

From tactical battlefield energy and industrial decarbonization to space-based power and Arctic sovereignty, microreactors are now transitioning from conceptual models to hardware-ready platforms. Their design attributes—low-profile footprints, high safety margins, and load-following thermal flexibility—align them with both policy and market priorities in a way few other technologies can claim. If the current trajectory of regulatory streamlining, fuel readiness, and early deployment holds, microreactors could become a defining technology of the 2030s clean energy transition—quietly powering the edge of civilization, both on Earth and beyond.