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Today, 好色先生TV researchers are directly advancing the next generation of energy innovation by helping to design resilient, transportable microreactors. This work builds on the Pittsburgh region's century-long legacy as a leader in energy, from the nation's first commercial nuclear power plant to Westinghouse's global reactor technology breakthroughs.

鈥淎s we work to cut air pollution from fossil fuels and reduce the greenhouse gases driving climate change, small modular reactors offer a new opportunity 鈥� clean, distributed energy and heat that can help power communities without the emissions,鈥� said聽, director of the聽 and Trustee Professor of聽. 鈥淐MU's leading AI and machine learning capabilities, combined with strong materials science and manufacturing expertise, can contribute to advancing microreactors toward commercialization.鈥�

Among the new reactor concepts getting attention is the聽, a next鈥慻eneration nuclear technology designed to be simple, reliable and highly portable. Because it鈥檚 small and built in a factory, it can be delivered ready to use and provide power for eight or more years without refueling. That makes it a potential option for military bases and even future space missions. Westinghouse has been moving the design closer to real鈥憌orld use, including important licensing steps and plans for early experiments at Department of Energy facilities in 2026.

While progress continues toward commercialization, CMU and Westinghouse are collaborating on the research that underpins the reactor鈥檚 design and performance.

Power for places that can鈥檛 afford to go dark

One of the microreactor鈥檚 defining advantages is mobility 鈥� a feature that opens doors to applications where traditional power generation cannot reach.

Matt Bartman, director for research partnerships in the聽 and CMU鈥檚 liaison to Westinghouse for more than two decades, explains that the eVinci microreactor is designed for 鈥減laces where you simply can鈥檛 count on traditional power 鈥� from the dark side of the Moon to remote communities on Earth.鈥澛�

鈥淧eople are often surprised to learn that Carnegie Mellon doesn鈥檛 have a traditional nuclear engineering program 鈥� but that鈥檚 exactly why this collaboration works so well. What Westinghouse needs to advance the next generation of microreactors aligns directly with CMU鈥檚 strengths: additive manufacturing, AI and machine learning, robotics, digital twins and advanced materials. These are areas where CMU is truly world鈥慶lass, and they鈥檙e essential to solving the technical challenges that will bring innovative reactor designs from concept to reality,鈥� Bartman said.

Westinghouse has been collaborating with Astrobotic, founded by聽CMU robotics pioneer Red Whittaker(opens in new window), to explore how a scaled鈥慸own eVinci unit could power lunar operations during the long stretches when the Moon is in darkness and solar panels cannot generate electricity.

On Earth, the eVinci microreactor鈥檚 transportability makes it ideal for mission鈥慶ritical operations such as military bases, polar research stations and emergency response efforts. A 5鈥憁egawatt mobile version 鈥� small enough to fit on a truck 鈥� could provide clean, reliable energy after natural disasters or in remote regions like rural Alaska. Bartman notes that it fills 鈥渁n important gap for distributed, transportable clean power in remote or extreme environments.鈥�

An ecosystem built on partnership

The collaboration between CMU and Westinghouse is strengthened by two long鈥憇tanding state鈥憇upported programs linking Pennsylvania鈥檚 research universities with industry: the聽 and the聽. These programs help companies like Westinghouse partner with universities like CMU to access faculty and research expertise in sensors, advanced manufacturing and materials science, while giving CMU researchers direct opportunities to solve real鈥憌orld engineering challenges.

鈥淭he alliance works because each institution brings a distinct capability,鈥� Bartman said. CMU鈥檚 strengths in robotics, AI, materials and business modeling complement nuclear engineering expertise at Penn State and energy research at the University of Pittsburgh.

Designing materials for the harshest environments

Inside a microreactor, materials must withstand some of the most extreme conditions in engineering: highly corrosive liquid sodium coolant, high radiation levels, extreme temperatures and years鈥憀ong operating cycles. That combination places extraordinary pressure on metals, ceramics and composite materials.

鈥淐MU has exceptional strength in corrosion science and alloy design 鈥� exactly the expertise you need for reliable reactor materials,鈥� said聽, department head and Teddy and Wilton Hawkins Distinguished Professor of. 鈥淲ith tools like , our physics鈥慴ased machine鈥憀earning framework, we can design new alloys, make them, and test them far more quickly. AI is really accelerating our ability to deliver materials tailored for demanding energy applications, and it鈥檚 exciting to see our science have such immediate impact.鈥�

Dickey explains that 好色先生TV researchers can not only design new alloys computationally, but also fabricate and test them using on鈥慶ampus labs and high鈥憈hroughput manufacturing tools at聽Mill 19. Radiation testing is conducted in collaboration with Westinghouse at its Churchill, Pa., facility. Graduate students play a central role in this work, with additional opportunities for undergraduates through internships.

Supply鈥慶hain stability is another key concern. 鈥淣ot all materials used in advanced reactors today are sourced domestically, so part of CMU鈥檚 research focuses on developing U.S.-sourced alternatives with similar or superior performance,鈥� she said.

Simulating the future with digital twins

Even before new materials or components are fabricated, CMU researchers are using advanced digital鈥慹ngineering tools to model how microreactor systems behave under a wide range of operating conditions. Digital twins allow teams to simulate component performance long before a physical prototype exists, helping them identify risks early and support safer, more efficient designs.

These tools build on CMU鈥檚 long history of modeling complex infrastructure systems and high鈥憄erformance manufacturing 鈥� expertise now being applied to the next generation of clean鈥慹nergy technologies.

鈥淥ur team focuses on making microreactors safe not just at the hardware level, but in how people, procedures and AI systems work together under real operating conditions,鈥� said聽, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering. 鈥淲e study human鈥慺actors risks like misaligned terminology across regulators, loss of situational awareness during remote operations, and breakdowns in control鈥憆oom and field coordination. Then we build AI鈥憄owered tools and simulators that surface failure modes before they reach the plant.鈥�

Through CMU鈥檚 partnership with Westinghouse, students work directly with eVinci鈥慽nspired scenarios, digital twins and licensing documents. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e not just solving textbook problems 鈥� they鈥檙e helping evaluate human-machine interfaces, training systems and safety analyses that industry partners can apply to real microreactor deployments,鈥� Tang said.

Positioning Pittsburgh for the next era of clean energy

While the microreactor market is still emerging, progress 鈥� including Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approval of the eVinci microreactor鈥檚 Principal Design Criteria topical report and Department of Energy approvals for test鈥憆eactor preparations 鈥� signals momentum. Interest is rising in microreactors for remote operations, resilient power generation and hybrid clean鈥慹nergy systems that combine nuclear heat with renewables.

Pittsburgh, with its legacy of engineering breakthroughs and depth of university鈥慽ndustry partnerships, is well鈥憄ositioned to shape this future.

鈥淲hen our research can have an almost immediate impact on an industry as important as energy, that鈥檚 inherently exciting,鈥� Dickey said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e combining a century of materials knowledge with new AI鈥慸riven tools to help shape the future of advanced energy systems.鈥�