Atomic Show #348 – Abdalla Abou-Jaoude MARVEL Program Lead

Atomic Show #348 – Abdalla Abou-Jaoude MARVEL Program Lead

From The Atomic Show by Rod Adams - Atomic Insights

July 13, 2026 · 39 min

About this episode

Dr. Abdalla Abou-Jaoude discusses the MARVEL program and its achievements in microreactor development.

MARVEL, a creative acronym meaning Microreactor Applications Research Validation and EvaLuation , is a trail blazing reactor development program designed to help the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and the nuclear industry remember how to build and operate small nuclear reactors for testing and demonstration. The program was initiated in 2020 and has created many opportunities to learn and improve. The current MARVEL program lead, Dr. Abdalla Abou-Jaoude, joined me for Atomic Show #348 to talk about the program and its historic accomplishments. Even though the MARVEL reactor has not yet been completed, he and his team – both superiors and subordinates – consider the program to be a research and development success story. MARVEL is a micro reactor designed to produce 85 kilowatts of thermal energy. Using Stirling engines, it will be able to produce approximately 20 kilowatts of electricity. That’s about the same generating capacity as a whole house generator for a 4,000 square foot American suburban home. The reactor uses uranium-zirconium hydride (UZrH) fuel rods with uranium enriched to less than 20% U-235 (HALEU). They are similar to those used in Triga research reactors…

People in this episode

Host: Rod Adams

Guest: Dr. Abdalla Abou-Jaoude

Topics covered

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Idaho National Laboratory

Products: MARVEL, Stirling engines, uranium-zirconium hydride (UZrH), HALEU, NaK (sodium potassium eutectic)

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