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Antares achieves zero-power criticality at INL
Leveraging more than $140 million in private capital fundraising, over 322,000 square feet of operational manufacturing space, and multifaceted partnerships with the Departments of Energy and Defense, reactor start-up Antares has become the first company involved in the Reactor Pilot Program to achieve zero-power fueled criticality—a full month ahead of the July 4 deadline set by President Trump’s Executive Order 14301.
This milestone, announced yesterday, was achieved with the company’s Mark-0: a sodium heat-pipe-cooled, TRISO-fueled microreactor. The Mark-0 is a forerunner to the company’s flagship design, which it calls the R1. For Antares, this development represents a key validation of its reactor physics, control systems, and supply chain.
Gediminas Stankunas, Simona Breidokaite, Andrius Tidikas
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 77 | Number 7 | October-November 2021 | Pages 791-801
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2021.1906153
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Activation inventory data were assessed for different European DEMOnstration Fusion Power Reactor (EU DEMO) vacuum vessel (VV) segments in order to evaluate the activity, dose rates, and decay heat of the structural materials and the impact of heterogeneity as a part of the Safety and Environment project of the EUROfusion/Power Plant Physics Technology program. Activity is a good indicator of the condition of irradiated material while decay heat and dose rate estimates are crucial for power plant operation and public safety. In addition, the VV structures were analyzed in terms of different breeder blanket configurations that were implemented in the model. Helium-cooled pebble bed and water-cooled lithium-lead breeder blanket modules were considered. These modules directly shield the VV from neutron irradiation; therefore, their design has a great influence on subsequent structure activation.