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Radiant pitches microreactor factory in Wyoming as residents raise health, property and process concerns
Summary
Radiant representatives described plans to mass‑produce transportable microreactors in Wyoming and to refuel units there; company leaders said they will work with regulators while many local residents and tribal speakers urged slower public engagement, stronger safeguards and more information on transport and long‑term waste handling.
Radiant representatives told the Minerals, Business & Economic Development Committee they plan to mass‑produce small transportable microreactors and said the company has been selected for an upcoming test at Idaho National Laboratory. "Radiant is proud to be the first company to mass produce microreactors," Jessie Dafoe, Radiant, told the committee. Rita Baranwald, Radiant's chief nuclear officer, said Radiant's Kaleidos design will be demonstrated at INL and that the company expects to attract suppliers and thousands of jobs to the region. "We're gonna go in on 04/01/2026," she said about a planned test.
Radiant and its managers answered questions about manufacturing, local suppliers and timelines. "We are a manufacturing center, and so we will have welders on‑site. We will have machinists on‑site," said Makai Cartman, senior operations manager. Company executives said not every component requires nuclear qualification and that some Wyoming suppliers already meet needed capabilities. Radiant described fuel as TrISO particles pressed into compacts and confirmed that used fuel from a microreactor would be removed and placed into transport/storage casks when the unit is refueled. "It's a 100% (refuel) — this reactor concept, it will be 100%," Baranwald said.
Multiple committee members and dozens of public speakers urged a slower, more transparent process. Bar Nunn residents and local officials said notice and public outreach had been limited before county and local endorsements. Speakers raised questions about emergency response, property values, evacuation routes and the length of public notice. "We did not move here to expose kids to this kind of a danger," a Bar Nunn resident said during public comment, citing proximity of the proposed site to housing and schools. Northern Arapaho and other tribal speakers urged lawmakers to reject storage proposals that could expose tribal lands and water to long‑term contamination and cited historic contamination at U.S. uranium sites.
Radiant executives said they would continue local engagement and invited site visits to DOE facilities. The company said full NRC licensing and DOE/DOE‑partner testing are prerequisites for any commercial deployment. The committee tabled the legislative draft that pertains to storage and directed staff to pursue more public meetings and additional technical reports before advancing statutory changes.
