The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has chosen five teams to run the first end-user experiments on its MARVEL microreactor test bed, a move that aims to accelerate nuclear innovation for sectors ranging from artificial intelligence to water treatment.
Announced on Wednesday, the selection marks a major step for MARVEL, which INL designed as a compact, first-of-its-kind system intended to show how nuclear energy can support non-traditional applications.
The reactor, about the size of a sedan and standing roughly 15 feet tall, will operate at the Transient Reactor Test Facility. The test bed will give private companies a rare chance to work with a live microreactor under controlled conditions.
It uses a sodium-potassium coolant and uranium-zirconium hydride fuel similar to that used in many university research reactors. The system relies on natural circulation cooling and operates between 500°C and 550°C. It produces 85 kilowatts of thermal energy and about 20 kilowatts of electricity.
INL officials say the project offers industry an unmatched environment for experimenting with emerging nuclear applications.
One official noted that MARVEL opens new paths for energy solutions and could help the United States compete in the global AI race. He also said the platform gives companies room to test ideas that connect nuclear power to persistent national challenges.
The selected teams include Amazon Web Services, which plans to pair MARVEL with a modular data center.
The company aims to create a self-sustaining power source for secure government and defense computing.
Read more: Department of Energy funds first-mover small modular reactors
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The consortium to test a pilot-scale desalination system
Additionally, the project intends to show how a microreactor could run independent of conventional grid infrastructure. In addition, DCX USA and Arizona State University intend to explore similar ground by assessing how nuclear energy can support AI workloads.
They will gather data on the continuous, stable power required to train and operate advanced models.
Further operational improvements form another pillar of the program. GE Vernova, a division of General Electric (NYSE: GE), aims to test remote and autonomous reactor operations.
Furthermore, the team intends to establish control approaches that could guide future commercial microreactor deployment. Meanwhile, Radiation Detection Technologies plans to evaluate advanced sensors capable of monitoring the performance of next-generation reactors in real time.
The fifth team, a consortium including Shepherd Power, NOV (NYSE: NOV) and ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), intends to test a pilot-scale desalination system. The effort will use nuclear-generated process heat to address the challenge posed by produced water in oil and gas operations. The group aims to collect data that may support new industrial water-management strategies.
The five teams will also now work with the Department of Energy and national laboratory experts to refine their plans. They will further evaluate the feasibility of their concepts and prepare for potential live demonstrations. In addition, agreements for the full projects may be finalized in 2026, giving industry a clearer view of how microreactors could reshape future energy systems.
