El Secretario del US Army presentó recientemente el Programa JANUS, que prevé la instalación y operación de microreactores nucleares en 9 (nueve) bases militares de esa fuerza. El Programa JANUS incluye la participación de importantes empresas especializadas en el desarrollo de estas tecnologías, las que han sido invitadas por la “Defense Innovation Unit” del Pentágono, a presentar sus propuestas de prototipos de hasta 20 MW de potencia para el 15Dic25. Se prevé que estos sistemas se encuentren operativos en las instalaciones seleccionadas en el 2030.
The Army on Tuesday named nine U.S. installations that could receive nuclear microreactors in the coming years as the service looks to the technology for increased and more resilient power production on its bases.
The locations that could receive microreactors by 2030 as part of the Army’s new Janus Program are: Fort Benning, Ga.; Fort Bragg, N.C.; Fort Campbell, Ky.; Fort Drum, N.Y.; Fort Hood, Texas; Fort Wainwright, Alaska; Holston Army Ammunition Plant in Tennessee; Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.; and Redstone Arsenal in Alabama.
Army Secretary Dan Driscoll announced the Janus Program last month, pledging to partner with commercial industry to place the small nuclear power reactors on some of the Army’s posts which will require more power access in the decades to come as the service increases its use of artificial intelligence capabilities and new-age weaponry. Driscoll and other officials last month declined to name what installations they were considering for the microreactors.
The nine sites were chosen after an evaluation of “mission critical installations, energy requirements and resiliency gaps, power infrastructure, environmental and technical considerations,” the service said in a news release Tuesday. Officials said it was possible that not all the named installations would receive microreactors in the coming years, but the Army envisions placing them at many more installations in the coming decades.
“These early site selections align with the Department of War’s goal of accelerating the pace of deploying on-site nuclear generation at our installations,” Jordan Gillis, the Army’s assistant secretary for installations, energy and environment, said in a prepared statement. “Through the use of the Army’s unique nuclear regulatory authorities, we are deploying a resilient, secure and reliable energy supply for critical defense operations and in support of the most lethal land-based fighting force in the world.”
Army officials said last month the Janus Program would be a public-private program in which commercial companies own and operate nuclear microreactors on Army installations and under the service’s oversight.
Microreactors are nuclear reactors about 100 to 1,000 times smaller than conventional nuclear reactors, some of which can be small enough to be transported on a semi-truck’s tractor-trailer, according to the Idaho National Laboratory, which oversees much of the Department of Energy’s nuclear power research. The reactors can produce up to 50 megawatts of power and can function entirely independently of the traditional electric grid, according to the laboratory.
The Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit has given commercial companies until Dec. 15 to submit prototyping bids for the microreactors to be placed at Army installations by the end of 2030. DIU wants the companies to build microreactors capable of producing up to 20 megawatts of power.
Army officials have described the latest generation of microreactors as a “significant technological advancement, in safety, security and waste management.”
“They are safe by design, not by intervention protocols,” according to the Army news release. Still, the DIU instructions to commercial bidders require that the microreactors include “passive safety features,” limits on radiation output, and a mandate that operational controls be accessible only from “within the Army installation.”
“The Army shares a commitment to public safety and transparency with our host communities and recognizes that the communities surrounding these installations have vested interest in their operations,” the Tuesday statement read. “The Army is committed to providing transparent information throughout the planning process and welcomes public engagement and feedback.
Fuente: https://www.stripes.com
