Domain
Nuclear Energy and Propulsion
Fission and fusion power, nuclear propulsion and the fuel supply chain behind them, for installations, ships, spacecraft and the grid.
Assessment
Case for · why it matters
The Army's Janus program has picked five vendors for up to $2.2 billion in on-base microreactors so critical installations can keep running without vulnerable civilian grids, with a target of one operating reactor by Sept. 30, 2028. It builds on DIU's ANPI program, which in 2025 made eight companies eligible to put microreactors on Army and Air Force installations.
Case against · the skeptic’s view
Advanced reactors still have to clear licensing and cost: the NRC denied Oklo's first Aurora application in 2022, and NuScale's Utah SMR project was terminated in 2023 after its target power price rose 53%. Most advanced designs need HALEU, whose only commercial supplier, Russia's Tenex, is barred from the US market by a 2024 import ban.
Who Builds It2
No maturity ratings yet for BWX Technologies, Idaho National Laboratory
Placed by each organization's own maturity for this technology; TRL is self-reported or estimated, see confidence.
Systems73
| Aurora powerhouse | Oklo | Other | Development | — |
| BWRX-300 | GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy | Other | Development | — |
| BWXT Advanced Nuclear Reactor (BANR) | BWXT Advanced Technologies | Other | Development | — |
| eVinci microreactor | Westinghouse Government Services | Other | Development | — |
| General Atomics Tactical Energy System (GA-TES) | General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems | Other | Development | — |
| Hermes 2 | Kairos Power | Other | Development | — |
| KRONOS MMR | NANO Nuclear Energy | Other | Development | — |
| Natrium | TerraPower | Other | Development | — |
| NuScale Power Module | NuScale Power | Other | Development | — |
Showing 1–9 of 73 systems
Breakdown7
- Advanced fission reactorsNext-generation fission reactors, from transportable microreactors to factory-built small modular reactors, designed for smaller footprints, passive safety and faster deployment.PrototypeMaturity of entries: 1 limited fielding, 1 prototype
- Fusion energyGenerating power by fusing light nuclei such as deuterium and tritium, by magnetic, inertial, pulsed or other confinement approaches.DevelopmentMaturity of entries: 2 development
- High-temperature and radiation resistant materialsMaterials designed to retain useful properties when exposed to high temperatures and radiation in nuclear and space systems.—
- Nuclear engineering and operations softwareSoftware built for the nuclear industry's engineering, licensing, construction and plant-operations work, including nuclear-trained AI search and drafting tools, corrective-action and outage-planning automation, and construction-management platforms. It supports the people who run plants and does not control reactors.Limited fielding
- Nuclear fuel supply chainEnrichment, conversion, fuel fabrication and used-fuel recycling that supply reactors with fuel.FieldedMaturity of entries: 2 fielded, 1 limited fielding
- Nuclear propulsion and space powerNuclear reactors and radioisotope sources that propel ships and spacecraft or power systems far from any grid or sunlight.FieldedMaturity of entries: 2 fielded, 1 development
- Space nuclear power and propulsion systemsSystems that use nuclear energy to supply spacecraft power or propulsion, including reactor and radioisotope approaches.—