image: Idaho National Laboratory announces initial selections for first MARVEL experiments
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Credit: Idaho National Laboratory
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho — The Idaho National Laboratory today announced initial selections for the Microreactor Application Research Validation and Evaluation (MARVEL) end user experiments. The five competitively selected teams will demonstrate several test cases, including desalination of remote operations and advanced sensors. The experiments will also be among the first to demonstrate the viability of powering data centers with advanced nuclear technologies, a cutting-edge use of nuclear energy that ensures America remains the leader in innovation to dominate the artificial intelligence race. These efforts deliver on the Trump administration’s executive orders to unleash private sector innovation and expedite the deployment of commercial nuclear energy technologies.
“Nowhere else in the world will you find this level of support for public sector innovation in nuclear energy,” said John Jackson, national technical director for the Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy’s Microreactor Program. “With access to MARVEL, companies can explore how microreactors will potentially help us win the global AI race, solve water challenges and so much more. The MARVEL testbed exemplifies how nuclear energy can open the door to a stronger, safer and more prosperous future for our country.”
MARVEL is a sodium-potassium-cooled microreactor that is being developed by the Department of Energy. It will generate 85 kilowatts of thermal energy and up to 20 kilowatts of electricity. Slated to be at the Transient Reactor Test Facility at the Idaho National Laboratory, MARVEL will provide a platform where the private sector can gain access to an operational microreactor to demonstrate innovative new use cases for the technology.
The following companies were selected as the first potential end users for MARVEL. The next step will be for them to work with Department of Energy and national laboratory staff members to create implementation plans for their proposed projects:
Amazon Web Services Inc. proposes coupling the MARVEL reactor with a modular data center, a new service that makes it simple and cost-effective for defense and government agencies to build data centers anywhere in the world by enabling the creation of a self-sustaining, rapidly deployable system that can operate independently of traditional power infrastructure.
DCX USA and Arizona State University propose to use MARVEL to demonstrate the feasibility of a microreactor to power a data center for artificial intelligence to yield valuable data on how to provide a stable, continuous power supply capable of handling the unique demands of AI processing.
General Electric Vernova proposes to use MARVEL to demonstrate remote and autonomous reactor operations and establish controls standards for broader application of the technology with commercial reactors.
Radiation Detection Technologies Inc. proposes to use MARVEL to test advanced high-performance sensor technologies that could help monitor the performance of advanced reactors.
Shepherd Power, NOV and ConocoPhillips propose to leverage MARVEL for a pilot-scale desalination project using nuclear-generated process heat to demonstrate the viability of advanced nuclear energy for addressing produced water challenges in oil and gas operations.
Selectees will coordinate with national laboratory experts to determine the feasibility of their proposed application using MARVEL. This may lead to the opportunity to use MARVEL for demonstration. Final agreements for proposed projects are anticipated to be announced in 2026.
For more information on the MARVEL Microreactor Project, click here.