Pentagon plans for mobile nuclear plants
The US navy mentioned on Monday they’re planning to deploy a miniature nuclear generator that may be carried in a freight truck and will energy a distant base indefinitely.
A reactor probe robotic, PMORPH, with 5 cameras and a radiation dosimeter, is unveiled at a press preview in Hitachi, Japan on Friday. File picture: VCG
The US Protection Division awarded three contracts for the engineering design of the cellular reactors, focusing on a one to 5 megawatt capability.
The mission, dubbed Pele, “includes the event of a secure, cellular and superior nuclear microreactor to help a wide range of Division of Protection missions comparable to producing energy for distant working bases,” the Pentagon mentioned in an announcement.
Inside two years, one of many three firms will probably be chosen to supply a prototype.
COPYRIGHT_BP: Published on https://bingepost.com/pentagon-plans-for-mobile-nuclear-plants/58619/ by Hilda Workman on 2020-03-11T22:39:46.000Z
The mini-reactor must be simply made operational and shut down, and weigh lower than 40 tons, so it may be transported by plane, by ship or by a tractor-trailer.
“Microreactors would considerably cut back the necessity for investments in pricey energy infrastructure,” the Pentagon assertion mentioned.
“A secure, small, cellular nuclear reactor would allow items to hold a virtually infinite clear energy provide, enabling enlargement and sustainment of operations for prolonged durations of time wherever on the planet.”
Some civilian nuclear consultants had been doubtful, noting that an assault that damages such a reactor might spill radioactive gas, or that the nuclear materials might fall into the incorrect palms and be used to manufacture a low-tech “soiled bomb.”