The Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign submitted a construction permit application (CPA) on March 31, 2026 to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in partnership with NANO Nuclear Energy to construct a KRONOS MMR reactor, marking another major milestone in the pursuit of an advanced nuclear research reactor at the Urbana campus.
The pathway for the Illinois Microreactor Demonstration Project (IMDP) to reach this point has been in development since 2019. At that time, renewed interest in nuclear energy was mounting and the momentum behind smaller microreactors hit an inflection point. Faculty in the Department of Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering (NPRE) had the key insight that these technologies would represent a paradigm shift in both deployment and operations. Reaching the best-in-class reliability track record that has become characteristic of nuclear energy will require research into maintenance strategies, advanced instrumentation and controls, cybersecurity, physical security, modeling and simulation, advanced materials, and many other topics.
“Through every step of the process thus far, we at The Grainger College of Engineering have worked diligently alongside our partners at Nano Nuclear Energy to ensure our goals in constructing the first KRONOS micro modular reactor (MMR) on the university’s campus can become a reality. By submitting the Construction Permit Application to the NRC, we are taking the next step in signifying that the work has been done correctly and precisely. And we continue to look forward to the possibilities of what can become the most advanced nuclear research platform on any U.S. campus,” said Caleb Brooks, NPRE professor and Donald Biggar Willett Faculty Scholar.
By basing the reactor off the of the KRONOS MMR commercial technology, the U. of I. research reactor will also be able to perform operator and technician training to help the state of Illinois and the United States reach massive project workforce requirements. IMDP will also provide a public outreach and education platform through which people can experience how a reactor operates, understand the remarkable safety case, and participate first-hand in this emerging technology.
“The Illinois Microreactor Demonstration Project will play a major role in ushering in the next generation of advanced reactors by facilitating research in these areas and providing a platform for training the next generation workforce,” said Rashid Bashir, dean of The Grainger College of Engineering. “This effort is another example of the way in which Grainger engineers dedicate themselves to a better, cleaner, safer society for us all.”
The CPA submission is the first major step of the two-part “Part 50” licensing pathway being pursued . To prepare for this, the IMDP team, along with Nano, have been formally engaged with the NRC in a pre-application readiness assessment. Through this process, draft versions of all 18 chapters of the Preliminary Safety Analysis Report (PSAR) and all six chapters of the Environmental Report (ER), which make up the vast majority of technical content of the CPA, were provided to the NRC. The regulator provided detailed and insightful feedback through this process. This optional part of the licensing pathway is expected to substantially support the review of the CPA and help secure a positive regulatory outcome.
“The University of Illinois have been ideal partners in this collaboration. The technical expertise contained in the NPRE department, combined with the University’s bold desire to be a first mover and drive technology forward has led to this point. Nano’s KRONOS MMR technology is uniquely suited to enable the University’s research mission, while also being easily deployable on a campus setting”, said Florent Heidet, Chief Technology Officer and Head of Reactor Development for Nano.
“Researchers throughout the University of Illinois seek discovery and pursue impact that can better the lives of everyone around us, and the need for clean energy can provide ample opportunity for this kind of impact,” said Vice Chancellor for Research & Innovation Susan Martinis. “Work being done on the Illinois Microreactor Demonstration Project can positively affect the economy, our workforce and the energy sector that that has new and considerable demands being placed on it.” As the IMDP looks ahead to next steps, we are actively preparing for the next steps of the deployment, which includes starting construction and developing an Operating License Application. IMDP seeks to achieve a goal of reaching operations by 2030.