We are excited to be a part of this fascinating initiative - good luck to all applicants!
The nucleus is the smallest part of matter, yet it holds nearly all the energy. BGU's Nuclear Challenge aims to create the nucleus of Israel's nuclear energy ecosystem. This month we launched the challenge at the Klein Institute for Nuclear Science & Engineering at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Four student teams, Or, Barak, Lahat, and Nitzotz, each design a 60 MWe small modular reactor on a different technology: integral pressurized water, fast liquid metal-cooled, molten salt, and helium-cooled graphite. They check each other's work and periodically defend their designs before an open panel of experts from BGU, industry, government, and academia. In May 2029, BGU's 60th anniversary, the university will select its best concept, BG-SMR-60. The challenge does not set Israel's nuclear energy policy. It builds people and an ecosystem so that decision-makers can make wise, educated choices. Israel is an energy island running 72 percent on a depleting supply of natural gas, with no nuclear energy ecosystem and only one place that trains nuclear engineers. That is what we are setting out to change. I presented the challenge to the BGU Board of Governors on October 21, 2026 (At the Core: Nuclear Science @ BGU). The launch was covered by Ynet (links in the comments). The attached one-pager provides the full and accurate picture, including how investors, companies, regulators, and the public can participate. #NuclearEnergy #SMR #NuclearEngineering #BGU #Israel BGN - Ben-Gurion University Technology Transfer Daniel Chamovitz Yaniv Gelbstein Lior Arazi Amiel Ishaaya Ben-Gurion University Canada Ben Gurion University France The Israeli National AI Directorate | Prime Minister's Office IEC - Israel Electric Corporation חברת החשמל לישראל בע"מ Ignite The Spark Ariel Sobelman MIND Israel Bracha Halaf Brian Rosen Dan Yachin Startup Nation Central INSS Israel Eylon Rosen Esti Peshin Aya Ephrati Morielle I. Lotan