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2026 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
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Antares achieves zero-power criticality at INL
Leveraging more than $140 million in private capital fundraising, over 322,000 square feet of operational manufacturing space, and multifaceted partnerships with the Departments of Energy and Defense, reactor start-up Antares has become the first company involved in the Reactor Pilot Program to achieve zero-power fueled criticality—a full month ahead of the July 4 deadline set by President Trump’s Executive Order 14301.
This milestone, announced yesterday, was achieved with the company’s Mark-0: a sodium heat-pipe-cooled, TRISO-fueled microreactor. The Mark-0 is a forerunner to the company’s flagship design, which it calls the R1. For Antares, this development represents a key validation of its reactor physics, control systems, and supply chain.
NUCLEAR AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES FOR SPACE (NETS-2024) PLENARY SPEAKER
Randy Bell is a senior project leader at The Aerospace Corporation working in space nuclear power and propulsion. Prior to Aerospace, he served in DOE and NNSA in nuclear engineering and nuclear nonproliferation from 1991 through 2020, during this time he led research programs developing technical methods to detect and characterize weapons proliferation. Mr. Bell was the manager of Space and Remote Sensing Systems where he oversaw several small satellite programs and many advanced airborne remote sensing efforts. He headed NNSA’s Office of Nuclear Detonation Detection where he was responsible for production of operational satellite payloads as well as seismic and atmospheric detonation detection technology. Subsequently he was the Director of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty’s International Data Centre where he led operation of the multinational nuclear test detection system and coordinated nuclear test monitoring activities among all Treaty member countries. Before DOE, Mr Bell was a US Navy Fast Attack Submarine Officer and continued in the reserves in numerous assignments related to national space systems. He has master’s degrees in physics from George Mason University, and computer science from Johns Hopkins University, and a B.S. in mathematics from the University of Rochester.
Last modified April 16, 2024, 8:46am MDT