VALAR WATCH
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374 facts · 512 sources · updated 2026-09-30

Fact orig-064

newrecordreported Ward One in the Philippines: announced March 2025, not built by April 2026, still seeking a site on university land
2025-03 · orig-064 · Valar Atomics, Valar Atomics Research Institute, Philippine Nuclear Research Institute, Greenpeace Philippines

March 2025 (GMA News and Daily Tribune, March 24; Power Philippines): speaking as president of Valar Atomics Research Institute, Kip Mock said Valar would build a 100 kW micro high-temperature gas reactor with the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) as a proof of concept, not connected to the grid and not generating electricity, at a cost in the 'tens of millions' of dollars; licensing with PNRI's regulatory arm had begun; he would not give a timeline or location. A US firm, EoS Organization, gave a 192-million-peso grant to the Philippine Nuclear Science Foundation in support of the reactor, and Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology joined as a partner. TechCrunch (February 2025) reported the PNRI contract covered a test-scale reactor and two full-scale reactors. Greenpeace Philippines condemned the deal (March 27, 2025). ANS (November 2025) described Valar Atomics Research Institute as a Philippine-incorporated subsidiary. The Philippine Collegian, the University of the Philippines student paper (April 2026), reports PNRI Director Carlo Arcilla said the project had Department of Science and Technology approval, aimed to finish within two to three years, and was seeking approval from the University of the Philippines to build within PNRI, which sits on UP Diliman land, and that the scientists' group AGHAM opposed it. Set beside Valar's April 2025 statement that it was building and testing this reactor in the Philippines (orig-018): a year later no reactor had been built there. Valar's claim of the world's first binding Coordinated Research Project with PNRI (orig-066) could not be checked: PNRI's website refuses our reader.

In plain termsBefore Utah, Valar planned its first uranium reactor, Ward One, for the Philippines, saying U.S. rules were too slow. It announced the project in March 2025. A year later the reactor still had not been built; the Philippine nuclear institute's director said the aim was to finish in two to three years, on University of the Philippines land, and local scientists and students objected to a test reactor in an urban area.
verified 2026-09-29: Verify pass 2 (2026-09-29): GMA, Daily Tribune, Power Philippines (dated March 24, 2025), Greenpeace, ANS, Philippine Collegian, TechCrunch and the Valar post re-read: 100 kW, proof of concept, no grid, 'tens of millions', licensing begun, P192M EoS grant, MSU-IIT, DOST approval, 2-3 years, seeking UP site approval. Match. The student quoted by the Collegian is not named.

In tabs: plans, timeline, overview, safety · file origins