NANO Nuclear Energy Inc. (“NANO Nuclear”), an emerging microreactor and advanced nuclear technology company, led by a world-class nuclear engineering team developing proprietary, portable, and clean energy solutions, announced that Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has completed a pre-conceptual design review of NANO Nuclear’s “ODIN” low-pressure coolant microreactor design.

Following NANO Nuclear’s announcement of its Strategic Partnership Project Agreement with INL in April 2023, INL, operated by Battelle Energy Alliance under the U.S. Department of Energy, advanced its examination of NANO Nuclear’s designs for its proprietary advanced microreactor “ODIN” through a panel of national laboratory engineers and scientists. The review was requested by NANO Nuclear to provide an external audit of the technical work completed to date on the “ODIN” microreactor. The review served to ensure that NANO Nuclear has thoroughly considered the necessary aspects of its design and the applicable regulations for advancing the technology towards a commercial product.

Figure 1 -Rendering of NANO Nuclear’s Proprietary Low-Pressure Coolant Microreactor “ODIN”

NANO Nuclear expects that INL will perform a similar review of its proprietary “ZEUS” microreactor in February 2024.

“Idaho National Laboratory has been instrumental in aligning our operations with the United States’ energy objectives and strategic direction,” said Jay Jiang Yu, NANO Nuclear Energy’s Founder and Executive Chairman. “Through the laboratory’s thorough evaluation of NANO Nuclear’s proprietary reactor, ‘ODIN’, we have obtained enormously useful and valuable insights to assist our technological development. This collaboration has equipped our world-class team with essential guidance and utilized a national laboratory expertise to maintain our progress in the field of advanced nuclear reactors.”

INL reviewed the technical information provided by NANO Nuclear on its reactor design, siting, fuel, and decommissioning strategy, culminating in a Panel Review Workshop to discuss every applicable area of the design and the future work required to successfully deliver an optimized and market-driven product. The review panel provided recommendations and outlined a path forward for NANO Nuclear to advance and build on the work completed by its world-class scientific team to date.

Figure 2 – Rendering of NANO Nuclear’s Proprietary Low-Pressure Coolant Microreactor “ODIN”

“Working alongside Idaho National Laboratory and their team of esteemed professionals has been immensely beneficial to NANO Nuclear,” said James Walker, NANO Nuclear Energy’s CEO and Head of Nuclear Reactor Development. “Idaho National Laboratory is a great resource to help the development and evolution of our advanced nuclear reactors. Their recommendations will serve to both optimize our reactor designs, and ensure these developments simultaneously align with national standards and licensing requirements. The panel delivered tremendous value to us and our ‘ODIN’ project. The planned review of the ‘ZEUS’ reactor design is expected to provide that project with the same external input and direction which has so significantly benefitted ‘ODIN’.”

Eugene Shwageraus, Lead on ‘ODIN’ Reactor Engineering, said, “INL expertise in nuclear reactor technologies is unmatched. It is reassuring that INL engineers found our design concept technically sound. The entire NANO Nuclear team is grateful for the INL review panel comments and suggestions, which will be extremely valuable for our future technology development steps.”