- New “beyond electricity” capabilities include process heat, deep decarbonization
- Several advanced reactor designs moving toward regulatory approval
- Novel uses for advanced nuclear technologies will improve their economics
“When TerraPower was formed 12 years ago, we were not a nuclear reactor developer. What we were looking to do was to solve energy poverty for one billion people and to decarbonize the world.”
That was TerraPower's President Chris Levesque, speaking to a rapt crowd at this year’s Nuclear Energy Assembly (NEA), NEI's annual conference. No fewer than four panels at the event drew packed audiences excited to hear what the new types of reactors just over the horizon will bring.
More than 40 companies and research institutions are investigating small modular reactor (SMR) and advanced nuclear reactor concepts.
And more are on the way.
On NEA’s first day, Dominion Energy announced it is investing in GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy’s brand-new BWRX-300 SMR design. “The BWRX-300 represents a significant improvement in the economics of new nuclear, an imperative for the long-term viability of the industry,” GE Hitachi Executive Vice President of Nuclear Plant Projects Jon Ball said.
But one of the main advantages of advanced nuclear technologies is the new and innovative uses they offer beyond generating electricity. Their ability to operate at higher temperatures makes them available for industries needing process heat for chemicals production, desalination and hydrogen production.
Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) is teaming with small modular reactor developer NuScale Power LLC to build a power plant at the Idaho National Laboratory in the 2020s. UAMPS Chief Executive Officer Douglas Hunter said NuScale’s small footprint and enhanced safety will allow its industrial customers to make the most of the reactors’ process heat by moving “right up to our fence line.”
And let’s not forget that nuclear energy is the silver bullet for climate change.
Kathryn McCarthy, vice president for research and development at Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL), said one potential new revenue stream for SMRs in Canada is producing hydrogen to decarbonize the transportation sector, including long-distance trucks, trains and the Toronto light rail system. CNL also is looking at how nuclear plants can operate in load-following mode to better balance intermittent wind and solar generation.
Levesque said TerraPower’s Traveling Wave Reactor design is now moving out of the research phase and entering the test phase, with a view to obtaining regulatory approvals from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission or China’s National Nuclear Safety Administration. The company also is working on a molten chloride fast reactor concept and has several domestic and overseas partners on both projects.
“Advanced reactor development is a heavy lift and we need talent, capital and intellectual property collaboration from more than one country. Technical primacy no longer has to be confined to one country—these are global projects that need global resources,” Levesque said.
The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) recently released a report on the economic viability of advanced reactor designs, which feature fewer and simpler systems, components and buildings and can be built cheaper and quicker. “The good news is that a lot of these technologies are headed to the lower end of the cost spectrum,” said Tina Taylor, EPRI’s senior director of research and development and deputy chief nuclear officer.