Today, Carnegie Mellon University researchers are directly advancing the next generation of energy innovation by helping to design resilient, transportable microreactors. This work builds on the Pittsburgh region’s century-long legacy as a leader in energy, from the nation’s first commercial nuclear power plant to Westinghouse’s global reactor technology breakthroughs.
“As we work to cut air pollution from fossil fuels and reduce the greenhouse gases driving climate change, small modular reactors offer a new opportunity — clean, distributed energy and heat that can help power communities without the emissions,” said Costa Samaras(opens in new window), director of the Scott Institute for Energy Innovation(opens in new window) and Trustee Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering(opens in new window). “CMU’s leading AI and machine learning capabilities, combined with strong materials science and manufacturing expertise, can contribute to advancing microreactors toward commercialization.”
Among the new reactor concepts getting attention is the eVinci™ microreactor(opens in new window), a next‑generation nuclear technology designed to be simple, reliable and highly portable. Because it’s small and built in a factory, it can be delivered ready to use and provide power for eight or more years without refueling. That makes it a potential option for military bases and even future space missions. Westinghouse has been moving the design closer to real‑world use, including important licensing steps and plans for early experiments at Department of Energy facilities in 2026.
While progress continues toward commercialization, CMU and Westinghouse are collaborating on the research that underpins the reactor’s design and performance.
Power for places that can’t afford to go dark
One of the microreactor’s defining advantages is mobility — a feature that opens doors to applications where traditional power generation cannot reach.
Matt Bartman, director for research partnerships in the College of Engineering(opens in new window) and CMU’s liaison to Westinghouse for more than two decades, explains that the eVinci microreactor is designed for “places where you simply can’t count on traditional power — from the dark side of the Moon to remote communities on Earth.”
“People are often surprised to learn that Carnegie Mellon doesn’t have a traditional nuclear engineering program — but that’s exactly why this collaboration works so well. What Westinghouse needs to advance the next generation of microreactors aligns directly with CMU’s strengths: additive manufacturing, AI and machine learning, robotics, digital twins and advanced materials. These are areas where CMU is truly world‑class, and they’re essential to solving the technical challenges that will bring innovative reactor designs from concept to reality,” Bartman said.
Westinghouse has been collaborating with Astrobotic, founded by CMU robotics pioneer Red Whittaker(opens in new window), to explore how a scaled‑down eVinci unit could power lunar operations during the long stretches when the Moon is in darkness and solar panels cannot generate electricity.
On Earth, the eVinci microreactor’s transportability makes it ideal for mission‑critical operations such as military bases, polar research stations and emergency response efforts. A 5‑megawatt mobile version — small enough to fit on a truck — could provide clean, reliable energy after natural disasters or in remote regions like rural Alaska. Bartman notes that it fills “an important gap for distributed, transportable clean power in remote or extreme environments.”
An ecosystem built on partnership
The collaboration between CMU and Westinghouse is strengthened by two long‑standing state‑supported programs linking Pennsylvania’s research universities with industry: the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Technology Alliance (PITA)(opens in new window) and the Manufacturing PA Innovation Program (PMIP)(opens in new window). These programs help companies like Westinghouse partner with universities like CMU to access faculty and research expertise in sensors, advanced manufacturing and materials science, while giving CMU researchers direct opportunities to solve real‑world engineering challenges.
“The alliance works because each institution brings a distinct capability,” Bartman said. CMU’s strengths in robotics, AI, materials and business modeling complement nuclear engineering expertise at Penn State and energy research at the University of Pittsburgh.
Designing materials for the harshest environments
Inside a microreactor, materials must withstand some of the most extreme conditions in engineering: highly corrosive liquid sodium coolant, high radiation levels, extreme temperatures and years‑long operating cycles. That combination places extraordinary pressure on metals, ceramics and composite materials.
“CMU has exceptional strength in corrosion science and alloy design — exactly the expertise you need for reliable reactor materials,” said Elizabeth Dickey(opens in new window), department head and Teddy and Wilton Hawkins Distinguished Professor of Materials Science and Engineering(opens in new window). “With tools like AlloyGPT(opens in new window), our physics‑based machine‑learning framework, we can design new alloys, make them, and test them far more quickly. AI is really accelerating our ability to deliver materials tailored for demanding energy applications, and it’s exciting to see our science have such immediate impact.”
Dickey explains that CMU researchers can not only design new alloys computationally, but also fabricate and test them using on‑campus labs and high‑throughput manufacturing tools at Mill 19. Radiation testing is conducted in collaboration with Westinghouse at its Churchill, Pa., facility. Graduate students play a central role in this work, with additional opportunities for undergraduates through internships.
Supply‑chain stability is another key concern. “Not all materials used in advanced reactors today are sourced domestically, so part of CMU’s research focuses on developing U.S.-sourced alternatives with similar or superior performance,” she said.
Simulating the future with digital twins
Even before new materials or components are fabricated, CMU researchers are using advanced digital‑engineering tools to model how microreactor systems behave under a wide range of operating conditions. Digital twins allow teams to simulate component performance long before a physical prototype exists, helping them identify risks early and support safer, more efficient designs.
These tools build on CMU’s long history of modeling complex infrastructure systems and high‑performance manufacturing — expertise now being applied to the next generation of clean‑energy technologies.
“Our team focuses on making microreactors safe not just at the hardware level, but in how people, procedures and AI systems work together under real operating conditions,” said Pingbo Tang(opens in new window), associate professor of civil and environmental engineering. “We study human‑factors risks like misaligned terminology across regulators, loss of situational awareness during remote operations, and breakdowns in control‑room and field coordination. Then we build AI‑powered tools and simulators that surface failure modes before they reach the plant.”
Through CMU’s partnership with Westinghouse, students work directly with eVinci‑inspired scenarios, digital twins and licensing documents. “They’re not just solving textbook problems — they’re helping evaluate human-machine interfaces, training systems and safety analyses that industry partners can apply to real microreactor deployments,” Tang said.
Positioning Pittsburgh for the next era of clean energy
While the microreactor market is still emerging, progress — including Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approval of the eVinci microreactor’s Principal Design Criteria topical report and Department of Energy approvals for test‑reactor preparations — signals momentum. Interest is rising in microreactors for remote operations, resilient power generation and hybrid clean‑energy systems that combine nuclear heat with renewables.
Pittsburgh, with its legacy of engineering breakthroughs and depth of university‑industry partnerships, is well‑positioned to shape this future.
“When our research can have an almost immediate impact on an industry as important as energy, that’s inherently exciting,” Dickey said. “We’re combining a century of materials knowledge with new AI‑driven tools to help shape the future of advanced energy systems.”
“Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The institution was originally established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical School. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology and began granting four-year degrees.”
Please visit the firm link to site