
Ward One
Ward One Physics Demonstration Unit to be built in the Philippines
Valar Atomics Research Institute
VARI, a Philippine company, exists to develop nuclear energy and education in the Philippines alongside local stakeholders. We’re currently building a passively safe Gen IV demonstration reactor, Ward One, in the Philippines.
4F Bldg D UP Ayalaland Technohub, Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines

Ward One
Ward One is a 100 kilowatt microreactor, designed to demonstrate the operational capabilities and safety features of our reactor architecture for future commercial scale reactors.
Graphite Moderation
Prismatic graphite moderators provide a stable core with high thermal inertia and strong negative temperature feedback, contributing to the passive safety of the Ward One design.
Triso Fuel
Tristructural Isotropic (TRISO) fuel is the most robust nuclear fuel on earth. Consisting of uranium particles wrapped in layers of graphite and silicon carbide, TRISO provides for a large margin of safety even at temperatures as high as 1600c—allowing for passive decay heat removal.
Helium Coolant
Unlike traditional water coolant, helium is an inert noble gas which does not become radioactive in a nuclear core. In conjunction with graphite moderation, helium provides a stable and passively safe cooling platform.
Low Source Term
Ward One's total radioactivity will be extremely low, adding to the already robust safety profile. For example, direct contact with the spent fuel from the reactor for 5 minutes would result in a radiation dose equivalent to a PET scan.
Purpose
Nuclear energy promises to deliver the abundance of energy that humanity needs to prosper. In order to do this, we must make great leaps. Ward One is the first step on this journey - the safest reactor ever made.
Our Team
We’ve assembled an expert team of nuclear engineers and physicists with decades of experience researching, designing, and constructing HTGRs.
Kip Mock
President, Ward One
Marnus Ferreira
Licensing Director
Ian Paolo Azusano
Administrative Director
Antonio Mallare
Treasurer
Brian Arandez
Secretary
Sasha Mitchell
Documentation Manager
Mark Mitchell
Chief Nuclear Officer
Visura Pathirana
Senior Nuclear Engineer
Vincent Paul Munar
Safety Engineer
Ockert Kotze
Senior Engineer
Alwyn Strauss
Senior Engineer
Janet Steenekamp
Documentation Specialist
Lyn Leask-Smith
Documentation Specialist
Jim Lucas
Mechanical Engineer
Anri Jahns
Process Engineer
Joseph Lillard
Operations Engineer
Julie Khuong
Process Engineer
Ishaan Aggarwal
Mechanical Engineer
Carson Fugate
Mechanical Engineer
Willie van Rooyen
Mechanical Engineer