SALT LAKE CITY — A small modular nuclear reactor has achieved "criticality" in eastern Utah, the company behind the project announced.
Valar Atomics said its reactor being tested at the San Rafael Energy Lab in Emery County met the milestone this week. "Criticality" is when a small modular reactor achieves a self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction. The company said its project also completed zero-power testing, which uses a low output and no cooling. The benchmarks allow the company to begin scaling up the experiment.
Valar Atomics is the second company to meet a July 4 deadline set by President Trump's executive order on nuclear reactor pilot programs. In an interview with FOX 13 News last month, Valar CEO Isaiah Taylor said they were close to achieving criticality.
"We met the milestone the executive order set. This reactor was built to make power, and that's exactly where we're headed. I'm grateful to the Department of Energy, the State of Utah, the local community, and the many people who got us here," Taylor said in a statement from the company announcing criticality.
Utah's Office of Energy Development also confirmed to FOX 13 News on Friday that Valar met the benchmark. The state has become very aggressive about nuclear power to meet the state's growing energy demands under Governor Spencer Cox's "Operation Gigawatt." Companies are setting up sites all over the state for nuclear supply chain and small modular reactors. Small-scale nuclear uses less water, but is also still in experimental phases and has raised concerns from environmentalists who believe the state should be more focused on other forms of renewable energy and the costs to taxpayers for unproven technologies.
The governor praised the announcement in a statement released through the company.
"America’s future depends on our ability to build," he said in the statement. "Valar’s milestones today is a testament to the ingenuity, determination, and partnership required to advance the next generation of nuclear energy. Utah is proud to be a place where frontier technologists can develop the reliable, abundant power needed to strengthen our nation’s energy security."
