Radiant Chooses Tennessee Manhattan Project Site Over Wyoming for First Nuclear Generator Factory

    Radiant to Build First Portable Nuclear Generator Factory on Tennessee Manhattan Project Site

 

October 13, 2025

 

A new chapter in American energy innovation is being written—this time on the same Tennessee soil where the nuclear age began.

Radiant, the California-based company behind the world’s first mass-produced portable nuclear generator, has announced plans to build its first factory in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, on the grounds of the legendary Manhattan Project’s K-27 and K-29 sites. Construction will begin in early 2026, with full production of the company’s 1-megawatt “Kaleidos” microreactor targeted for 2028.

 

When operational, the new R-50 Factory is expected to scale up to 50 nuclear generators per year—each small enough to transport by truck but powerful enough to run a remote community, data center, or military installation.

 

“The next frontier in portable power”

Radiant CEO Doug Bernauer said the choice of Oak Ridge is both symbolic and strategic.

 

“What was once the birthplace of the Manhattan Project will soon be where we launch a new age of portable nuclear power,” Bernauer said. “By 2028 we’ll roll out the first factory-built nuclear generator—and within a few years, dozens more.

 

Radiant COO Tori Shivanandan praised Tennessee’s “business-friendly environment and unmatched nuclear IQ,” saying the location gives Radiant the regulatory stability to move quickly as global demand for clean, on-demand energy surges.

 

The company’s Kaleidos reactor is designed to be a failsafe, transportable power source that can operate for years without refueling. Unlike traditional nuclear plants, it can be deployed rapidly for off-grid resilience, military operations, or energy-hungry data centers.

 

Wyoming’s crossroads: control vs progress

 

Here in Wyoming, we’ve lived for generations with oil, gas, and the risks that come with them—blowouts, leaks, and economic booms that often end in busts. Yet while other states are embracing small modular and portable nuclear technologies, many Wyoming leaders still hesitate, unwilling to loosen the grip of traditional energy politics.

That hesitation could cost us. Nuclear microreactors like Radiant’s are compact, self-contained, and emit no carbon—precisely the kind of forward-looking technology that could redefine Wyoming’s role in the energy future. But progress can’t happen without permission, and too many of our policymakers are still guarding yesterday’s industries instead of preparing for tomorrow’s.

 

If Tennessee can turn its World War II atomic legacy into a 21st-century energy manufacturing hub, what’s stopping Wyoming—a state with world-class engineers, abundant open land, and deep energy expertise—from doing the same?

 

The takeaway

 

Radiant’s move signals that the race for next-generation energy leadership is already underway. And whether Wyoming joins it—or gets left watching from the sidelines—will depend on whether our decision-makers are ready to embrace innovation as fiercely as they’ve defended the status quo.