Energy is a critical enabling component of military operations and demand for it will continue to increase over time. In particular, energy usage during contingency operations will likely increase significantly over the next few decades. The modern operational space has amplified the need for alternative energy sources to enable mobility in forward land based and maritime military operations. In 2008, during the height of combat in Iraq, the Government Accountability Office estimated that more than 900,000 gallons of fuel went to bases for basic power needs like lighting and refrigeration (on top of the 6.7 million gallons the military burned that year in jets and ground vehicles.)
Storms, blown transformers or sabotage can disable power grids, which is of concern to military installations connected to them. In isolated areas or military installations, the loss of power to site infrastructure can result in significant financial loss or loss of life. The U.S. Department of Defense envisions a kind of portable nuclear reactor that could move with units and provide all the power needs for a remote military base, eliminating the need to transport lots of fuel and maintain long supply lines to keep a base fueled up. Portable nuclear reactors are also useful for conflicts such as Iraq or Afghanistan, where convoys laden with diesel fuel are at risk of ambush. These SMRs have also potential to power modern Laser and High power Microwave Directed Energy Weapons which require large amount of power.
The 2010 NDAA directed the department to study the feasibility of nuclear power for military installations, but a study concluded that the reactors available at the time were simply too big. In August, 2016, the Defense Science Board identified key gaps in its report: Energy Systems for Forward Remote Operating Bases and concluded, “There is an opportunity for exploration of the use of nuclear energy applications at forward and remote operating bases and expeditionary forces.” The board concluded that the best approach for these super small reactors was radioisotope thermoelectric generators. They work simply: as the reactor fuel — either plutonium-238 or strontium-90 — decays, it slowly but surely releasing lots of heat, which is converted by thermocouples into electricity.
Small modular reactors (SMRs) defined as nuclear reactors generally 300MWe equivalent or less. SMRs have generated global interest, and potential future applications are a subject of international research directives. Their are around 50 different SMR designs worldwide according to the IAEA. Project proposals include use of SMRs for desalination, process heat generation, biofuel conversion and military base installations.
U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) is increasingly interested in the potential of SMRs mainly from two critical vulnerabilities it has identified in its infrastructure and operations: the dependence of U.S. military bases on the fragile civilian electrical grid, and the challenge of safely and reliably supplying energy to troops in forward operating locations. SMR safety systems reduce threats to public health; decrease the global stockpile of weapons-grade material and radioactive waste; and provide critical infrastructure support on military installations worldwide.
The Army’s small nuclear reactors generated power for remote installations in Greenland, Antarctica, Alaska, and other locations. This program ended in 1979 due to a number of factors, including the accident at Three Mile Island, cheap fossil fuel prices, and an overall waning of national interest in nuclear power. As Suid writes, the Army concluded “that the development of complex, compact nuclear plants of advanced design was expensive and time consuming…that the costs of developing and producing such plants are in fact so high that they can be justified only if the reactor has a unique capability and fills a clearly defined objective backed by the Department of Defense…[and that] the Army and the Pentagon had to be prepared to furnish financial support commensurate with the AEC’s [U.S. Atomic Energy Commission’s] development effort on the nuclear side.”
However, new developments in the commercial sector are opening up more options. American companies Westinghouse (0.2-5 MWe), NuScale (1-10 MWe), and UltraSafe Nuclear (5 MWe) are all developing reactors with less than 10 MWe output, while Sweden’s LeadCold (3-10 MW3) and a U.K. consortium led by Urenco (4 MWe) are also working on developing similar systems.
SMRs provide a number of benefits compared to the commercialized light water reactors, or LWRs, some of which are of particular interest to the Department of Defense. SMR designs for military base applications, such as the FliBe Energy’s Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactor, provide a mobile and reliable avenue for on-site electrical power generation and desalination.
The U.S. Army’s own study declared that small, mobile nuclear reactors present “a classic example of disruptive innovation,” the study said, “The return of nuclear power to the Army and DOD will have a significant impact on the Army, our allies, the international community, commercial power industry, and the nation. U.S. nuclear industry growth affects the nation economically and geopolitically. With nuclear industry growth, there is significant potential for generating thousands of jobs… while provid[ing] a deployable, reliable, and sustainable option for reducing petroleum demand and focusing fuel forward to support Combatant Commander (CCDR) priorities and maneuver in multi-domain operations.”
The Pentagon announced Project Dilithium, its effort to develop a portable nuclear reactor, in January 2019. According to its plan, the reactor “should be less than 40 tons total weight; small enough to be transported by truck, ship, and aircraft; able to run for at least three years without refueling; and capable of semi-autonomous operation.”
Employing SMR technology on military bases will also allow for access to clean water, which is a largely unavailable resource across the globe. The U.S. Navy nuclear-powered aircraft carriers desalinate an estimated 400,000 gallons per day. SMRs use technology that establishes dynamic safety; enhances nuclear waste management protocols that benefit nonproliferation; and generates on-site electricity and potable water on military installations.
Small mobile nuclear reactors can make the DOD’s domestic infrastructure resilient to an electrical grid attack and fundamentally change the logistics of forward operating bases, both by making more energy available and by drastically simplifying the complex fuel logistical lines which currently support existing power generators operating mostly on diesel fuel. Additionally, a small mobile nuclear reactor would enable a more rapid response during Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations. Small mobile nuclear reactors have the potential to be an across-the-board strategic game changer for the DOD by saving lives, saving money, and giving soldiers in the field a prime power source with increased flexibility and functionality.
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