SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign celebrated plans for a micro nuclear reactor Friday. NANO Nuclear Energy Inc. will work with UIUC to have a micro modular reactor built next to the current nuclear research center on campus.
NANO Nuclear has created a strong relationship with the Grainger College of Engineering, and they hope to see many U of I students participate in this work.
"We're just excited that we have a leading institution in nuclear energy helping us with tremendous amounts of engineers alongside our engineers," said NANO Nuclear President Jay Yu. "This is a perfect time for the new nuclear age."
Yu told WAND News his company hopes to submit a construction permit to the NRC within the first quarter of 2026 and start pouring concrete and steel for the project within a year or two. He said NANO Nuclear should have a full-scale KRONOS micro modular nuclear reactor in or around operation by 2030.
CEO James Walker explained the country is heading into a nuclear renaissance.
"We can now manufacture our reactors along the production line and mass produce them," Walker said. "So, we can get economies of scale through numbers of reactors rather than economies of scale through the size of the reactor."
The news comes roughly two years after Gov. JB Pritzker signed a bill into law to lift the 1987 moratorium on nuclear construction. Companies can start building smaller nuclear reactors on Jan. 1.
"Because of the big AI boom and big tech companies now pouring in to power their data centers, this is the need," Yu said.
The University said this project will help power the campus, reach clean energy goals and create incredible opportunities for students.
"It will give them a leg up to go out into this industry," said Susan Martinis, UIUC Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation. "But, it will also give us an opportunity to invest in that new workforce that's going to be so dearly needed."
NANO Nuclear received $6.8 million from the Pritzker administration earlier this month to establish a manufacturing and research facility in the Chicagoland area. The company plans to invest $12 million in job creation and nuclear development.Â
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