It’s time for the United States to demonstrate advanced reactorsANS Nuclear CafePower & OperationsOctober 16, 2020, 9:04AM|Rita BaranwalAfter talking about it for decades, the United States is finally ready to take the next step in demonstrating advanced reactor technologies.We have the bipartisan support from Congress. We have the best innovators in the world. Now it’s time to see what U.S. nuclear companies can really do with the support and resources of the federal government.The U.S. Department of Energy is all in on new nuclear technologies and we just made our boldest move yet—selecting and supporting two U.S. reactor designs that will be fully operational within the next 7 years.After evaluating the competitive U.S. reactor design applications that were submitted to our new Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program funding opportunity announcement, TerraPower LLC and X-energy were awarded $160 million in initial funding to test, license, and build their advanced reactors under this aggressive timeframe. Pending future appropriations by Congress, the DOE will invest $3.2 billion over 7 years in these projects that will be matched by the industry teams.Both designs offer significant innovations that improve upon today’s nuclear power plants and will set the tone for our demonstration program in helping to develop a portfolio of new reactors that will ultimately be competitive in both the United States and global markets.NATRIUM REACTOR AND ENERGY SYSTEMNatrium™ reactor and energy system architecture. Image: TerraPowerTerraPower teamed up with GE-Hitachi, Bechtel, and Energy Northwest to develop Natrium, a sodium-cooled fast reactor that leverages technologies used in solar thermal generation systems. Natrium couples a 345 megawatt electric (MWe) nuclear reactor with a molten salt energy storage system that can flexibly operate with renewable power sources. The simplified design and decoupling of nuclear and non-nuclear systems allow for expedited licensing and construction. The team expects to reduce the amount of nuclear-grade concrete required for the plant by 80 percent compared to traditional large-scale reactors. That’s a major cost saver!The thermal energy storage system will help boost power production to 500 MWe and improve the economics of the plant by matching grid demand or providing other services, such as the production of hydrogen. The demo project also includes an initial one-year scope to start the design and licensing of an enrichment facility that would support the fueling of advanced reactors with high-assay, low-enriched uranium.Xe-100 reactor by X-energy. Image: X-energyXE-100 REACTORX-energy is partnering with Energy Northwest and Burns & McDonnell to develop its Xe-100 reactor and specialized uranium-based pebble fuel. The team will demonstrate a four-unit, 320 MWe plant that uses high-temperature helium gas to produce heat and electricity more efficiently. It leverages previously DOE-supported high-temperature gas technologies and uses the most robust nuclear fuel on earth, TRISO particles. Each 80 MWe reactor continuously refuels, meaning it can operate for a very long time before needing maintenance that might normally be done during refueling outages. The major components will also be factory-fabricated, making the plant faster and cheaper to build.This project also includes the completion of X-energy’s TRISO fuel fabrication facility that would support additional advanced reactor designs that choose to use this specialized fuel, such as high-temperature molten salt and gas reactors.Demonstrating new technologiesThe Natrium and Xe-100 reactors will be the first of many designs that we plan on supporting through our Advanced Reactor Demonstration program.We recognize that many U.S. reactor vendors need support in order to accelerate the development of their designs. Additional pathways will be provided to these private companies to help advance their technologies toward commercialization.DOE will provide an additional $30 million to help reduce the risk of up to five additional advanced reactor designs that we plan to announce later this fiscal year.Many U.S. companies lack the facilities and resources required to build, operate, and collect the data on their reactors to prove to regulators that they work as designed.The Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program addresses this pressing need by leveraging the resources of our national laboratories and federal facilities to expeditiously usher our domestic developers through the technology development process.This program is extremely ambitious and will ultimately show significant performance and cost improvements over today’s reactors that can be readily licensed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.The DOE plans to leverage the recently established National Reactor Innovation (NRIC) at Idaho National Laboratory to accelerate this technology development. NRIC provides private sector technology developers access to the strategic infrastructures and assets at our national laboratories. Companies can use these resources for commercial nuclear energy research, development, demonstration, and deployment activities to support a timely and cost-effective path toward commercialization.All part of the planThese first selections represent a strong commitment by the DOE to the development of advanced nuclear technologies and are consistent with the Administration’s Nuclear Fuel Working Group strategy to help regain our global leadership in nuclear energy.The emerging advanced nuclear energy market is expected to be worth billions of dollars. It will create thousands of jobs, grow economies, and lower emissions.The real question is, where will this innovation take place?I believe that we have the best talent, technology, experience, and resources in the world. It’s time to take the reins of the global nuclear market and do what we do best, which is to provide the most innovative solutions that address our world’s energy and environmental challenges.Rita Baranwal is Assistant Secretary for the DOE's Office of Nuclear EnergyTags:advanced reactorsardpgen-ivterrapoweru.s. doex-energyShare:LinkedInTwitterFacebook
Fuel innovation: Powering nuclear modernizationToday’s U.S. commercial nuclear power plants are fueled with uranium dioxide pressed into cylindrical ceramic pellets—and have been for decades. These pellets are stacked inside long fuel rods made of a zirconium alloy cladding. Innovation in nuclear fuel, however, can improve safety, reduce operating costs, and further enable the development of a new generation of non-light-water reactors.Go to Article
Holtec SMR could be built at Oyster Creek siteThe site of the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in Lacey Township, N.J., could be the location for Holtec International’s SMR-160 small modular reactor, according to an AP News story published last week.ARDP investment: Holtec received $147.5 million in Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program funding to demonstrate its SMR design. Company spokesperson Joe Delmar said, “As part of our application to the Department of Energy for its advanced reactor demonstration program, we expressed interest in possibly locating an SMR-160 small modular reactor at the Oyster Creek decommissioning site in the future. This concept is only preliminary and something we would likely discuss with Lacey Township and the community if plans to locate (the reactor) at Oyster Creek evolve.”Go to Article
The year in review 2020: Research and ApplicationsHere is a look back at the top stories of 2020 from our Research and Applications section in Newswire and Nuclear News magazine. Remember to check back to Newswire soon for more top stories from 2020.Research and Applications sectionARDP picks divergent technologies in Natrium, Xe-100: Is nuclear’s future taking shape? The Department of Energy has put two reactor designs—TerraPower’s Natrium and X-energy’s Xe-100—on a fast track to commercialization, each with an initial $80 million in 50-50 cost-shared funds awarded through the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program. Read more.Go to Article
John Gilligan: NEUP in support of university nuclear R&DJohn Gilligan has been the director of the Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP) since its creation in 2009 by the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE). NEUP consolidates DOE-NE’s university support under one program and engages colleges and universities in the United States to conduct research and development in nuclear technology. The two main R&D areas for NEUP funding are fuel cycle projects, which include evolving sustainable technologies that improve energy generation to enhance safety, limit proliferation risk, and reduce waste generation and resource consumption; and reactor projects, which strive to preserve the existing commercial light-water reactors as well as improve emerging advanced designs, such as small modular reactors, liquid-metal-cooled fast reactors, and gas- or liquid-salt-cooled high-temperature reactors.Go to Article
ARC-20 cost-share funds go to ARC Nuclear, General Atomics, and MITDesigns chosen for ARC-20 support could be commercialized in the mid-2030s. Graphic: DOEThe Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE) has named the recipients of $20 million in Fiscal Year 2020 awards for Advanced Reactor Concepts–20 (ARC-20), the third of three programs under its Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP). The three selected teams—from Advanced Reactor Concepts LLC, General Atomics, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology—will share the allocated FY20 funding for ARC-20 and bring the total number of projects funded through ARDP to 10. DOE-NE announced the news on December 22.The DOE expects to invest a total of about $56 million in ARC-20 over four years, with industry partners providing at least 20 percent in matching funds. The ARDP funding opportunity announcement, issued in May 2020, included ARC-20 awards, Advanced Reactor Demonstration awards, and Risk Reduction for Future Demonstration awards.Go to Article
Advanced reactors take center stage in Popular MechanicsThe January/February 2021 issue of Popular Mechanics hit subscriber mailboxes this week with a stark cover image of a single small reactor under the headline, “Tiny nuclear reactors are about to revolutionize American energy.” The story looks at advanced reactors as a pivotal step to “redeem nuclear’s stature in American energy.”A good primer: The article does a good job introducing the casual reader to the idea that “bigger is no longer better” and that the future of nuclear power in the United States will most likely be “a combination of traditional large plants and smaller, safer megawatt reactors.”Advanced reactors, including small modular reactors, show that nuclear is no longer a one-size-fits-all operation, the article notes. The industry now “is all about personalization,” says Ken Canavan, Westinghouse’s chief technical officer, who is quoted in the article. The capacity and scalability of SMRs “is just irreplaceable,” he adds.The article explains that SMRs, microreactors, and other advanced reactor designs will be able to bring reliable, carbon-free power to small or remote locations, replacing fossil fuel power plants and supplementing the “resource-sucking downtimes left by renewables.”Go to Article
Five advanced reactor designs get DOE risk reduction fundingThe Department of Energy today announced $30 million in initial fiscal year 2020 funding—with the expectation of more over the next seven years—for five companies selected for risk reduction for future demonstration projects. The chosen reactor designs from Kairos Power, Westinghouse, BWX Technologies, Holtec, and Southern Company collectively represent a range of coolants, fuel forms, and sizes—from tiny microreactors to a molten salt reactor topping 1,000 MWe. They were selected for cost-shared partnerships under the Office of Nuclear Energy’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP) through a funding opportunity announcement issued in May 2020.“All of these projects will put the U.S. on an accelerated timeline to domestically and globally deploy advanced nuclear reactors that will enhance safety and be affordable to construct and operate,” said Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette. “Taking leadership in advanced technology is so important to the country’s future, because nuclear energy plays such a key role in our clean energy strategy.”Go to Article
Congress set to pass year-end funding billThe final text of the approximately 5,600-page Consolidated Appropriations Act 2021 was released on December 22. While the timing of final passage is still fluid, the Senate was expected to approve it and send it on to President Trump to sign into law, according to John Starkey, American Nuclear Society government relations director.Below are some key funding highlights from the legislation pertaining to nuclear energy.Go to Article
Advanced reactors important for carbon-free power production in U.S., tweets Vice NewsA video posted to Twitter by Vice News discusses the prospect of advanced reactors being an important mix of carbon-free power production in the United States. Hosted by Gelareh Darabi, an award-winning Canadian-British-Iranian journalist and documentary filmmaker, the video provides quick and easy statistics for the general audience and pulls from social media influencer I_sodope. It also includes comments from nuclear experts.Go to Article
U.K. sets plans for clean energy and green jobs by 2050A 170-page energy white paper, Powering Our Net Zero Future, issued by the United Kingdom government on December 14 sets big goals for cleaning up the U.K.’s energy system. According to the U.K. government, the plan would create and support green energy jobs across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and would keep electricity bills affordable as the U.K. transitions to net zero emissions by 2050.The white paper notes that the U.K. will generate emission-free electricity by 2050 with a trajectory that will see "overwhelmingly decarbonized power in the 2030s. Low carbon electricity will be a key enabler of our transition to a net zero economy with demand expected to double due to transport and low carbon heat."The white paper builds upon the U.K. prime minister’s 38-page Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution, which was issued on November 18.Go to Article