TECHNOLOGY LICENSING OPPORTUNITY: Heat Pipe Reactor Wick and Fill Platform
Overview
Buyer
Place of Performance
NAICS
PSC
Set Aside
Original Source
Timeline
Qualification Details
Fit reasons
- NAICS alignment with historical contract wins in similar service areas.
- Scope strongly matches core technical capabilities and delivery model.
Risks
- Past performance thresholds may require one additional teaming partner.
- Potential clarification needed on staffing minimums before bid/no-bid.
Next steps
Validate eligibility requirements, assign capture owner, and schedule partner outreach to confirm teaming strategy before submission planning.
Quick Summary
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), under the Department of Energy, is offering a Technology Licensing Opportunity for its Heat Pipe Reactor Wick and Fill Platform. This innovative platform enhances the reliability of high-temperature heat pipe reactors by improving the manufacturing of critical wick structures and the filling, sealing, and quality control of heat pipe arrays. This is not a call for external services but an invitation for organizations to license the technology. Interested parties should contact licensing@lanl.gov by December 4, 2026.
Technology Description
The Heat Pipe Reactor Wick and Fill Platform addresses key challenges in building durable thermal hardware for demanding environments. It comprises two main technical elements:
- Wick Fabrication: Utilizes methods like drawing, hydroforming, or modular splicing to create strong, porous annular wick structures. Mesh layers are shaped around an etchable mandrel, compressed, and diffusion bonded. The mandrel and sheath are then chemically removed, leaving a stable porous tube with precise pore structure and geometry for high-temperature alkali metal heat pipes.
- Fill, Seal, and Inspection Platform: Designed to load, seal, and inspect heat pipe arrays under controlled vacuum or inert gas conditions. This workflow can be automated with precision metering, controlled handling, and laser welding, significantly improving repeatability and reducing contamination risks. Built-in quality control includes inspection of porous structures, leak testing, fill verification, and process monitoring.
Advantages & Applications
This technology offers several advantages, including supporting high-temperature heat transport, improving manufacturability of complex wick structures, increasing reliability and consistency in heat pipe production, and enabling scalable filling/sealing/inspection. It is well-suited for long-life, high-purity alkali-metal systems and compact thermal management applications. The technology has a TRL 7 rating.
Key Market Applications include:
- Nuclear Energy: Microreactors, reactor heat transport, thermal management systems.
- Space: Space reactors, power conversion, radiator-side heat rejection.
- Aerospace: High-reliability thermal control, compact heat transport.
- Defense: Remote power systems, mission-critical thermal hardware.
- Advanced Manufacturing: Specialized heat pipe production tools and processes.
- Industrial Energy Systems: High-temperature heat recovery and thermal transport.
LANL may also loan a full-scale prototype of the modular alkali metal heat-pipe fill system. The technology is protected by US Patent Nos. 12,007,171-B1 and US 11,633,806-B1.
Licensing & Timeline
LANL's licensing program aims to move inventions to commercial innovations through exclusive and non-exclusive agreements. This opportunity was published on June 4, 2026, and interested parties should engage in discussions by the response date of December 4, 2026. There is no set-aside designation as this is a technology licensing opportunity, not a procurement.