US military plans portable mini nuclear power plants

The US military said Monday they are planning to deploy a miniature nuclear generator that can be carried in a freight truck and could power a remote base indefinitely. The US Defense Department awarded three contracts for the engineering design of the mobile reactors, targeting a one to five megawatt capacity. The project, dubbed Pele, "involves the development of a safe, mobile and advanced nuclear microreactor to support a variety of Department of Defense missions such as generating power for remote operating bases," the Pentagon said in a statement. Within two years, one of the three companies will be chosen to produce a prototype.