About this episode

This episode revisits the story of a small nuclear reactor project at Eielson Air Force Base, highlighting its significance for energy resilience in military installations.

Back in 2019, Congress directed the Department of Defense to find a site and pilot a small nuclear reactor to enhance energy resilience at military installations. That site is Eielson Air Force Base near Fairbanks, Alaska. Recently the Air Force named a developer for the reactor, so we're revisiting the story we told back in Episode 5. In future episodes you'll hear directly from the key people moving the project forward—both the technical lead for the Air Force and the senior commander guiding its integration on the ground. For now, we're sharing episode 5 with you as a refresher.

People in this episode

Host: Gwen Holdmann

Topics covered

• nuclear energy
• military installations
• energy resilience
• small nuclear reactor
• Eielson Air Force Base
• Department of Defense

Keywords

• nuclear energy
• Eielson Air Force Base
• Department of Defense
• energy resilience
• small nuclear reactor
• military energy projects

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Department of Defense

Places: Eielson Air Force Base, Fairbanks, Alaska

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• A Nuclear Reactor for Alaska's F-35s · August 20, 2025 · 18 min
• Harnessing the Maelstrom: Tidal Energy · July 19, 2025 · 29 min

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