Valar's Ward250 microreactor being loaded, without fuel, onto a C-17 aircraft. (Photo: Valar Atomics)

A public-private partnership between the Departments of Defense and Energy and Valar Atomics marked a milestone over the weekend when Valar’s Ward250 microreactor was transported (without fuel) from California to Utah using three C-17 aircraft. The reactor will now trek from Hill Air Force Base to the Utah San Rafael Energy Lab (URSEL) for testing and evaluation.

A formal press conference at Hill Air Force Base included Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Undersecretary of Defense Michael Duffey, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, and Valar Atomics CEO Isaiah Taylor.

During his remarks, Wright discussed the significance of the day, and said “a 5‑megawatt Valar Atomics nuclear reactor was just flown from L.A. to this air force base here in Utah—an incredible 5‑megawatt reactor that powers 5,000 homes, flown in the back of a plane.” The ability to transport microreactors like the Ward250 bolsters claims that the technology could be deployed to remote locations, military installations, or to support natural disaster relief missions.

Husband-and-wife team Timothy Adkins and Ann Gibeaut are using Geiger counters supplied by the American Nuclear Society to educate young people in West Virginia about nuclear science and ionizing radiation. In 2022, ANS donated some old nonfunctioning Geiger counters to Tim and Ann, who recalibrated them and got them working again.

The Department of the Navy (DON), which comprises both the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps, issued a request for information this week on potential deployment of clean energy generation on underutilized military lands.

Peters

Mark Peters will become president and chief executive officer of MITRE, effective September 3, 2024. He will succeed Jason Providakes, who previously announced his intention to retire after 37 years with the not-for-profit research and development company, including seven years as president and CEO.

Peters is a recognized expert in nuclear fuel cycle technologies, nuclear waste management, and national security, with more than 25 years of leadership and scientific discovery for federally funded R&D centers (FFRDCs). He currently serves as executive vice president, laboratory management and operations, at Battelle Memorial Institute, which, with other strategic partners, operates eight FFRDCs for the federal government, with responsibility for governance and oversight of the Department of Energy and Department of Homeland Security national laboratories.

Experimentation on the world’s first molten salt reactor to potentially power aircraft was already underway in November 1954, being carried out by the U.S. Air Force. Oak Ridge National Laboratory was the scene for the power-dense, high-temperature reactor experiment known as the Aircraft Reactor Experiment (ARE).