ACU gets permit to build nation’s first molten salt university research reactor

September 17, 2024, 3:00PMNuclear News
Representatives from Natura Resources, the Zachry Group, Abilene Christian University, the University of Texas–Austin, Texas A&M University, and the Georgia Institute of Technology with the construction permit at NRC headquarters. (Photo: Natura Resources)

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a construction permit yesterday to Abilene Christian University, giving ACU and its partners the go-ahead to build the Molten Salt Research Reactor (MSRR) facility on its Abilene, Texas, campus. The 1-MWt research reactor is the first molten salt–fueled reactor to get a construction permit from the NRC. After Kairos Power’s Hermes, it is the second non–light water reactor construction permit issued by the NRC.

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