NANO Nuclear Energy and the engineering firm Fortil are teaming up on a new clean energy project. They are working on a micro modular reactor called the KRONOS MMR. Right now, the company’s main focus is on the Fuel Handling & Storage System. This is the part that safely manages and stores nuclear fuel while the reactor is actually running.

The companies completed the conceptual design, a major milestone in the industry. Basically, they have identified the requirements and how this specific system will connect to the main reactor. Finishing this step lowers technical risks and sets a clear path for building it.

“The successful commercialization of advanced nuclear technology depends upon disciplined engineering execution alongside continued regulatory progress,” James Walker, Chief Executive Officer of NANO Nuclear Energy, said. “Our collaboration with Fortil on the Fuel Handling & Storage System represents another important milestone in advancing the KRONOS MM program and further strengthens the technical foundation supporting future deployment.”

Walker continued, “As this critical subsystem progresses from conceptual design into preliminary design, we continue to mature the reactor architecture, systematically reduce technical risk and build the engineering basis necessary to support future licensing, construction and commercialization.”

Moving the MMR Forward

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MMR design
The KRONOS MMR design; Photo: NANO Nuclear Energy

The teams are moving into the preliminary design phase to iron out the smaller details and start putting the pieces together.

In addition to this project, earlier this year, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission formally accepted its application to build a KRONOS MMR at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. NANO Nuclear believes this makes it the first commercial microreactor program to get this far in the licensing process. If they get all the right approvals, they expect to start initial construction in the second half of 2027.

“Our collaboration with NANO Nuclear marks an important step forward and a meaningful consolidation of Fortil’s nuclear development,” Bosko Jovanovic, Head of Nuclear Development of Fortil, added. “By bringing together our multidisciplinary engineering expertise and NANO Nuclear’s advanced reactor design, we are strengthening our position in the nuclear energy sector and building the long-term capabilities required to support ambitious, first-of-a-kind programs such as the KRONOS MMR. We are proud to deepen this collaboration and to contribute to a technology that will play a key role in the future of clean energy.”