The U.S. military has selected nine Army bases as possible sites for microreactors and launched $900 million in federal funding to promote small modular reactor development, according to an April 27, 2026 analysis from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The country currently operates about 98 gigawatts of nuclear generating capacity, but very little nuclear capacity has been built in recent decades due to high capital costs and lengthy licensing processes. Several companies are now developing small modular reactor designs aimed at reducing those barriers, with generating capacities of about 300 megawatts per unit or less compared to the 550 to 1,500 megawatts typical of large-scale nuclear plants.
The EIA reviewed specifications for commercial small modular reactor and microreactor designs under development in the United States as of February 2026, cataloging five main technology categories. Light water-cooled designs are typically smaller versions of existing large reactors that use low-enriched uranium fuel and are intended to provide scalable baseload electricity to a traditional power grid. High-temperature gas reactors use graphite as a moderator and helium gas as a coolant, operating at very high temperatures that make them suitable for powering industrial processes requiring high heat inputs, such as hydrogen production. Molten salt reactor designs use molten salts to serve as the reactor fuel and coolant, with some dissolving fissile material like uranium directly into a molten fluoride or chloride salt. Sodium-cooled reactors use liquid metal as a coolant instead of light water, allowing them to operate at higher temperatures and lower pressures while potentially improving efficiency. Microreactors, a subset of small modular reactors, generally have a capacity of 20 megawatts or less and can operate as part of the electric grid, independently from it, or as part of a microgrid.
The report notes that small modular reactors are under consideration for powering AI, data centers, or other industrial activities where developers may not want or need to connect to the grid, and could also service remote areas and communities that have high transmission and distribution costs. Several designs use high-assay low-enriched uranium fuel, which is uranium enriched between 5% and under 20% uranium-235, more highly enriched than the sub-5% low-enriched uranium fuel currently used in most nuclear reactors. According to the analysis, the higher enrichment has a higher burnup, which could improve efficiency and performance, allow smaller reactor footprints, and reduce spent fuel waste. The main components of small modular reactors are modular, factory-assembled parts shipped to the plant construction site for installation, which could reduce construction times.
Federal government support for domestic small modular reactor technology has increased substantially over the past year. In March 2025, the Department of Energy reissued a tender for $900 million in federal funding to promote development, and in June 2025 announced the Energy Reactor Pilot Program aimed at expediting the testing of advanced reactor designs at sites outside national laboratories. The report states that nine vendors have been selected for that program, while eight vendors were named as eligible for the military's Advanced Nuclear Power for Installations program launched in 2024. In October 2025, the Department of the Army announced the Janus Program for building microreactors and selected nine bases as possible sites: Fort Benning, Fort Bragg, Fort Campbell, Fort Drum, Fort Hood, Fort Wainwright, Holston Army Ammunition Plant, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, and Redstone Arsenal. The Department of the Air Force is planning its first nuclear microreactor at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska with Oklo, Inc., in a commercially owned and operated pilot program that aims to deliver 1 to 5 megawatts of electricity by 2027, while the Department of the Navy is soliciting offers for commercial on-site reactors to power its installations.