A team from Houston-based Deployable Energy meets with Gov. Spencer Cox in Salt Lake City recently. From left: Mike Zurlo, vice president of projects development at Deployable; state Sen. Derrin Owens, R-Fountain Green; Bobby Gallagher, Deployable CEO; Cox; Sanjay Mukhi, chief commercial officer at Deployable; and energy consultant Suzanne Baker. (Courtesy Office of Gov. Cox)
Utah’s Office of Energy Development (OED) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with a Houston, Texas-based developer of compact, transportable nuclear microreactors.
The MOU establishes a non-binding framework for cooperation and information exchange as the parties explore siting Deployable Energy Limited’s Unity nuclear reactors within the state.
Deployable Energy is a clean energy company that develops and manufactures compact portable nuclear reactors that it markets as “a product, not a project.” The result is a system that can be produced in volume, deployed quickly and operated across a wide range of applications.
The two sides further agreed to explore potential opportunities for research, testing, demonstration and commercial deployment of the technology.
The Unity nuclear battery is a 1-megawatt microreactor that can fit inside a standard 20-foot shipping container. It is factory-built and designed to be quickly transported wherever electrical power is needed. Its modular design means that single reactors can be combined into arrays of hundreds of units, with five-year refueling cycles.
“The MOU marks an important step in advancing research, development and commercial deployment of Deployable’s Unity nuclear battery,” the company said in a statement.
“Utah is demonstrating the kind of leadership that can make it a national hub for advanced nuclear energy,” said Bobby Gallagher, CEO and co-founder of Deployable Energy. “The state isn’t simply working to attract new technologies and companies — it is building an ecosystem that brings together industry, government, communities and the workforce needed to turn innovation into real economic opportunity.
“Just as importantly, Utah recognizes that successful energy development starts with meaningful engagement with the communities where these projects may ultimately be located,” Gallagher continued. “That combination of ambition, collaboration and community engagement is exactly what we look for in a partner, and we’re excited to work with the state to explore what Deployable Energy can contribute to Utah’s energy future.”
“Utah is leading the nation in energy innovation, and our partnership with Deployable Energy is another step towards an abundant energy future that is reliable, secure and clean,” said Emy Lesofski, director the Utah Office of Energy Development and energy advisor to Gov. Spencer Cox.
Utah officials emphasized that the MOU does not indicate that Unity reactors have been approved for manufacture in Utah. It provides a framework for the state and Deployable Energy to examine whether and how the technology could eventually be deployed.
