Designs / dsn-rapid-l
RAPID-L (lunar concept)
JAEA’s June 2005 description identifies RAPID-L as a lithium-cooled fast-reactor concept for a lunar base, with 200 kWe plant output. It describes a complete 7.6-ton reactor structure designed for one rocket launch and separate cooling, power-conversion and radiator equipment for a second. SMRMap assesses this documented packaged transport configuration as modular deployment; this is not a claim that JAEA labels it an SMR. Module electrical and thermal ratings remain unknown. IAEA-TECDOC-1536 attributes the lunar concept to CRIEPI and identifies terrestrial sodium-cooled RAPID as its successor, not the same design. This historical concept does not establish a launch, current development, a deployment or a regulatory permission.
- Class
- SMR
- Technology
- Other
- Coolant
- other
- Spectrum
- fast
- Developer / vendor(s)
- Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry (CRIEPI)
- Inclusion basis
- smr_by_design_class
- Confidence
- medium
- Last verified
- 2026-10-08
Tracked deployment projects
- No projects tracked here.
Design sources
- JAEA ATOMICA: lunar RAPID-L and terrestrial RAPID (June 2005) (government_primary, accessed 2026-10-08)
- IAEA-TECDOC-1536, Status of Small Reactor Designs Without On-Site Refuelling (2007) (iaea_or_nea, accessed 2026-10-03)