Four nuclear reactor companies will set up shop in Bryan, Texas as part of a plan to bring more nuclear energy to the Lone Star State.
The companies will develop their respective small modular nuclear reactor technologies at A&M’s Rellis technology and innovation campus.
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“Plain and simple: the United States needs more power,” said A&M Chancellor John Sharp. “And nowhere in the country, other than Texas, is anyone willing to step up and build the power plants we need.”
Sharp made the offer of using the Rellis campus as a place where companies could develop SMRs with the hopes of eventually constructing the facilities and plugging into Texas’ power grid. Kairos Power, Natura Resources, Terrestrial Energy and Aalo Atomics have already agreed to work with A&M on this project.
SMRs are smaller than traditional nuclear power plants and are seen as one possible solution to the state’s rapidly growing energy needs. Currently, Texas’ power grid gets 10 percent of its energy from nuclear reactors at the South Texas Project in Matagorda County and the Comanche Peak Plant near Ft. Worth in Somervell County.
A&M has long been working on SMR technology with various companies at the University’s Center for Advanced Small Modular and Microreactors. The agreement announced Tuesday could see this work move beyond the theoretical to the actual operation of an SMR.
A&M officials said the project at Rellis is dubbed “The Energy Proving Ground” and the application process has already started for an early site permit from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
KPRC 2 Investigates first reported on A&M’s plans in January. The project is part of Texas’ overall push to add more nuclear energy to the power grid.
