SerpApi.Org
U.S. tech firm NANO Nuclear Energy has reached a new engineering milestone for its KRONOS MMR microreactor, moving its Fuel Handling & Storage System from conceptual design toward the next stage of development.
The company said its collaboration with engineering and consulting firm Fortil is nearing the end of conceptual design work for the subsystem, which is responsible for handling, storing, and managing nuclear fuel during reactor operations.
The work has involved multiple engineering disciplines, including mechanical and systems engineering, nuclear safety, instrumentation and control, and radiation protection. The goal is to establish the technical foundation needed to further develop and integrate the system into the KRONOS MMR architecture.
The companies have evaluated engineering solutions against program requirements, defined key subsystem interfaces, and prepared documentation that will guide the next phase of design.
Design work moves forward
NANO Nuclear and Fortil now expect to begin preliminary design activities. This phase will add more analytical detail, refine the system, and focus on how the subsystem integrates with the broader reactor architecture.
The milestone is part of NANO Nuclear’s wider effort to advance the KRONOS MMR toward potential deployment and commercialization. The company said the engineering work is intended to reduce technical risks and create a framework that could support standardized designs for future commercial reactors.
“The successful commercialization of advanced nuclear technology depends upon disciplined engineering execution alongside continued regulatory progress,” James Walker, CEO of NANO Nuclear Energy, said. “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.”
The KRONOS MMR is a stationary high-temperature gas-cooled microreactor that NANO Nuclear is developing for commercial and clean-energy applications. The company is also pursuing other microreactor technologies, including its portable ZEUS reactor and space-focused LOKI MMR system.
The engineering milestone comes as the KRONOS MMR program advances through the US nuclear regulatory process. Earlier this year, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission accepted the reactor’s Construction Permit Application for review for a proposed deployment at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
NANO Nuclear said the current regulatory review schedule could allow initial construction activities to begin in the second half of 2027, subject to regulatory approvals and other project requirements.
Building systems for deployment
Fortil’s work on the Fuel Handling & Storage System is intended to address one of the critical systems needed for reactor operations. The subsystem requires coordination across several engineering fields because it must support fuel management while meeting nuclear safety requirements.
“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 at Fortil, said. “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.”
Jeremy La Sala, Nuclear Projects Manager at Fortil, said the system is a “critical and complex subsystem” requiring close integration across engineering disciplines and rigorous systems engineering.
NANO Nuclear said the next phase will build on the conceptual work as it continues developing the KRONOS MMR toward licensing, construction, and potential commercial deployment.
