MobileNuclear Energy (MNE) is to collaborate with Peregrine Turbine Technologies’ Nuclear Energy System subsidiary (PTT NES) to integrate its MN-1 Mobile Microreactor system with PTT’s supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) energy conversion system, advanced heat exchanger technologies and high temperature helium blower and magnetic torque coupling.
Virginia-based MNE says its mission is “to develop and deploy the first truly mobile, safe, sustainable, and affordable nuclear microreactor to provide the military and other government agencies with responsive, durable, and modular energy generation capability”. It “is committed to delivering the lightest, safest, and most mobile microreactor in the world”.
MNE says the MN-1 is a nuclear microreactor intentionally designed for mobility and optimised for small size, light weight, efficient energy production, affordability, and safety. It is a modular system, transportable by air, land, or sea, “and can optionally be integrated to operate in transit to provide power for propulsion systems, directed energy weapons, or other high-power ‘on the move’ applications”.
In July 2023, PTT announced its new subsidiary, PTT NES after it had “identified significant potential and opportunity for its breakthrough energy conversion technologies in the accelerating VSMR (very small modular reactor) and MMR (micro modular reactor) programmes (350 kW-10 MW), and a clear intermediate-term opportunity in the SMR (small modular reactor) 30 MW to 100 MW class range”.
PTT NES’s sCO2 system is essentially a closed loop heat engine and is fuel agnostic, meaning that it can operate on any high-grade heat source such as nuclear and concentrated solar, as well as on all air combustible fuels Including sustainable biomass, biogas, refuse derived fuels and natural gas. PTT holds a long-term Cooperative Research & Development Agreement with Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) for support in the development, testing, and de-risking of its patented sCO2 turbomachinery and heat exchangers in various applications.
PTT NES’s advanced conversion system has been developed over the past 12 years with support from the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), the Office of Naval Research (ONR), the Maine Technology Institute (MTI) and in collaboration with SNL’s Brayton Laboratory team with an underlying intent to support the new generation of advanced nuclear reactors.
The planned core power module is equivalent in size to a standard shipping container, populated with the nuclear microreactor and PTT’s sCO2 turbine-generator as baseline capability. Add-on modules can seamlessly integrate with the power module to provide atmospheric water generation, hydrogen-based fuel production, heating and cooling, and other mission-tailored capabilities. MN-1 core power module generates 1 MWt and 350 kWe. It is fully shielded with no in-ground site preparation or post-movement site cleanup required. It can be fully operational within two hours of arrival on site and shut down in less than four hours. It is safe to operate and resilient to physical damage with a 10-year service life between refuelling.
PTT NES’s sCO2 systems have less than a third of the footprint more than three times the efficiency of Air Brayton conversion systems. The integrated MNE-PTT system solution will provide important and significant differentiation for MNE in its targeted Defence Department applications. This includes:
- Smaller and lighter weight physical footprint
- No water required; No phase change (dry cooling)
- Black start capability (recovery from blackout)
- Oil-free lubrication
- Higher Efficiency than alternative conversion technologies
- Modular construction at component and system levels (fewer moving parts and cartridge-style, field replaceable turbomachinery
- Benign Failure Heat Exchangers
- Increased load following capabilities
- PTT’s helium (He) blower and heat exchangers with proprietary magnetic torque coupling – the solution for He leakage.
Chris Pehrson, MNE CEO said it is “a perfect marriage that will deliver the energy capacity that our customers need while maintaining the mobility that defines our microreactor system”. David Stapp, PTT NES CEO/CTO said advanced nuclear married to advanced sCO2 power conversion technology “is a game-changer for large, distributed energy markets, both commercial and military”. He added: “Peregrine’s technology is right sized to match with MobileNuclear’s advanced reactor technology. The combination delivers breakthrough performance and capability that is unmatched. We are excited to team with this capable company.”
In April, US-based Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation also announced plans to collaborate with PTT to integrate its Pylon microreactor with PTT’s sCO2 energy conversion system and advanced heat exchanger technologies.
