NANO Nuclear Energy has been selected for a new AFWERX Small Business Innovation Research Phase I award, giving the company another opportunity to advance its KRONOS MMR Energy System with the Department of the Air Force.

The new Phase I award is framed as a broad research and development agreement. NANO said the contract is focused on using KRONOS to “address the most pressing challenges in the DAF [Department of the Air Force].”

The distinction between this award and NANO’s previous Air Force contract is worth noting.

Last year’s roughly $1.25 million Direct-to-Phase II award was tied to a specific objective: studying the feasibility of deploying a KRONOS MMR at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, DC. That work examines the base’s energy requirements, grid vulnerabilities, siting options, environmental considerations and regulatory pathways.

Rather than evaluating a reactor for one predetermined location, the new engagement could give NANO a wider platform to demonstrate how KRONOS might support energy resilience across additional Air Force installations and potentially other defense applications. It arrives as the military is moving ahead with microreactor projects at several bases, reflecting growing concern over fragile commercial grids and the need for dependable, on-site power.

Of course, an early-stage government award should not be confused with a reactor purchase order. There is still plenty of engineering, licensing and bureaucracy standing between an SBIR contract and an operating nuclear plant.

Still, NANO now has multiple active Air Force engagements instead of a single feasibility study. The earlier Phase II contract gave the company a concrete deployment target, while this broader Phase I award could give it something potentially more valuable over the long run.