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Available for Licensing: Composite Vessel-Shield Technology for Transportable Microreactor Systems
Contact and place of performance
Javier Martinez
Idaho Falls, ID 83401
USA
Composite Vessel-Shield Technology for Transportable Microreactor Systems A laminated sandwich composite designed to consolidate reactor vessel and radiation shielding functions into a single, weight-optimized structural system for mobile nuclear power applications. Overview Practical deployment of transportable micro-reactors asystems depends on solving a fundamental&n...
View moreIndustry Need
Current practice requires the reactor pressure vessel and radiation shield to be designed and fabricated independently, each carrying its own mass burden. For microreactor configurations subject to transport weight limits, this creates a design envelope that is difficult to close. Existing alternatives, including boron-aluminide composite plates and metal foam systems with attenuating fill, address parts of the problem but present limitations related to buckling susceptibility or bonding performance under service conditions.
Differentiation and Advantages
Consolidates vessel and shield into one structure, reducing the mass penalty of treating them as separate systems
Additively manufactured multilayered composites resists internal buckling, addressing a known limitation of traditional sandwich composites where carbon ply skins are resin bonded onto metallic honeycomb cores. The skin and sandwiched corrugation layer are literally “welded” together, thus greatly minimizing debonding under the extreme pressures of nuclear reactor environments. Both honeycomb and straight triangular channels (or corrugated) cell structures have been considered for the sandwich core.
Tungsten and boron high temperature ceramic fill within the core layer provide combined gamma-ray and neutron attenuation; thus, integrating the shield into the reactor vessel. The integration greatly reduces the volume and by extention, mass, penalty of enveloping a reactor vessel with a heavy shield.
Potential Applications
Transportable microreactors requiring road, rail, or air shipment.
Remote or off-grid installations where system weight affects site accessibility.
Defense and space deployment requiring mobile nuclear power within transportation constraints.
Domestic supply chains requiring nuclear-grade composite manufacturing capability.
Availability and Licensing
This technology is available for licensing through Idaho National Laboratory. Interested parties may contact the point of contact listed in this notice to request licensing information. This notice is not a procurement opportunity; Idaho National Laboratory does not procure technologies or accept unsolicited proposals through this process.
The Department of Energy, through the Battelle Energy Alliance–DOE CNTR, is offering a technology licensing opportunity for a laminated sandwich composite designed to consolidate reactor vessel and radiation shielding functions. Identified under solicitation number BA-1453-2, this innovation addresses logistics challenges for mobile nuclear power by integrating two traditionally separate systems into a single, weight-optimized structure. The opportunity is classified under NAICS 541715 Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology) and PSC 4470 NUCLEAR REACTORS.
The technology utilizes additively manufactured multilayered composites to reduce the mass and volume penalties that currently constrain the transport of microreactors by road, rail, or air. By welding the skin and corrugated core layers together, the system minimizes debonding and internal buckling under extreme pressures. The design incorporates tungsten and boron high-temperature ceramic fill within the core to provide simultaneous gamma-ray and neutron attenuation. This approach is intended for remote or off-grid installations, defense and space deployments, and domestic supply chains requiring nuclear-grade composite manufacturing.
Administrative activities for this notice are centered in Idaho Falls, Idaho, with a response deadline of July 1, 2026. Javier Martinez is the designated point of contact for licensing information through the Idaho National Laboratory. This Special Notice is specifically for technology licensing and does not constitute a procurement opportunity or a request for unsolicited proposals. There are 0 attachments associated with this notice.
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