Overview
- NANO Nuclear Energy, working through the University of Illinois’ Grainger College of Engineering, submitted a construction permit application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for its KRONOS microreactor planned on the UIUC campus.
- The filing starts the NRC’s process, which begins with a completeness check and docketing before a technical and environmental review that the company estimates will take about 12 months, with any construction approval dependent on that outcome.
- KRONOS is a 15‑megawatt high‑temperature gas‑cooled reactor that uses TRISO fuel and helium coolant to provide steady, carbon‑free power, with features aimed at walk‑away safety, autonomous operation during outages, and modular scaling.
- Interesting Engineering reports the submission makes NANO the first microreactor developer and the third Generation IV reactor developer to reach this permit stage, in what CTO Florent Heidet called a proving ground for execution‑ready projects.
- NANO targets initial test operations at Illinois in the late 2020s and is exploring additional sites in Texas, South Korea, and at U.S. federal facilities, supported by a non‑binding Ameresco partnership and a U.S. Air Force AFWERX research contract for Joint Base Anacostia‑Bolling.