BRYAN, Texas (KRHD) — The Texas A&M University System is taking a major step into the future of energy with a new partnership that will bring a small nuclear reactor to its RELLIS Campus. The collaboration with Last Energy represents a significant advancement in nuclear technology and educational opportunities.
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The microreactor demonstration project will be installed at the RELLIS Campus, which is run by The Texas A&M University System.
"RELLIS was established as an innovation campus," said David Staack, deputy vice chancellor for research at The Texas A&M University System.
The initiative comes with support from an executive order by President Trump aimed at reforming and accelerating nuclear reactor development.
"What's at a deficit right now on the electrical grid is dispatchable power and low level power, and nuclear is one of these that can really be reliably always on," Staack said.
Last Energy's approach differs from traditional nuclear power plants by building microreactors in their own factory before transporting and connecting them on-site. The compact design offers significant advantages over other renewable energy sources.
"So we're on a 1.75 acre plot right now. So if you were going to build out the equivalent of solar panels or wind turbines, you're looking at somewhere between 10 to 15 times that amount of size, and you're also looking at, you know, 10 to 15 times the amount of materials that are going into those projects," said Adam Lenarz, vice president of development at Last Energy.
15 ABC asked Lenarz why the word "nuclear" shouldn't worry people like it often does.
"Next to solar, nuclear is the safest form of generating electricity. So, we've got no emissions. We've got an incredibly safe methodology for getting electricity, and we've really got that sort of base load electricity generation," Lenarz said.
Beyond power generation, the project creates valuable educational opportunities for Texas A&M System students.
“We expect and we're already engaged with Last Energy and some of the other nuclear energy providers on, you know, research agreements, you know, programs for our students to do internships and similar type of interactions," Staack said.
The five-megawatt reactor will serve as a demonstration of consistent, reliable electricity generation. Lenarz believes nuclear energy is essential for meeting future energy demands.
"There's no credible scenario in the next 30, 40, 50 years of building out the energy demands for artificial intelligence, just for industrial growth across the world and across Texas and across the United States, without baseload nuclear energy," Lenarz said.
Lenars tells 15 ABC that the project timeline has moved quickly but also safely. Last Energy aims to have the microreactor sustaining a nuclear reaction by the middle of 2026.
"Our business is really meant to utilize all the proven technology that exists in those large scale reactors, but to make it something that is buildable in a much shorter time period," Lenarz said.
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