GREENWICH, CT – November 10, 2020 – Terrestrial Energy USA and Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) have commenced detailed testing of the Integral Molten Salt Reactor (IMSR) Generation IV advanced nuclear power plant fuel salt. This fuel salt testing program is part of a broader ongoing confirmatory testing program for fuel, components, and systems used in the IMSR power plant. The results of these tests will support licensing applications as first commercial deployment of the IMSR power plants advance.
Terrestrial Energy USA began working with ANL in 2016 after receiving an award from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) program. GAIN directs support to the nuclear community commercializing innovative nuclear technologies.
“We are delighted to expand our relationship with ANL, which began in 2016 as the result of DOE’s GAIN program. Our first GAIN award catalyzed what is now a full-scope commercial engagement with the lab,” said Simon Irish, CEO of Terrestrial Energy USA. “Our strategy is to continue working with world-class laboratories offering expertise in relevant areas, rather than building that testing capability in-house. This strategy keeps our engineering resources focused on the IMSR power plant, rather than developing lab-based R&D capabilities, and is essential to meet our early deployment schedule.”
ANL will use an extensive array of characterization techniques and advanced laboratory equipment to determine thermo-physical properties of the IMSR fuel salt to regulatory standards. ANL will prepare and test fuel salt mixtures that replicate the fuel salt composition over the full IMSR operating cycle. The laboratory investigations will include melting point determinations, density, viscosity, heat capacity, and thermal diffusivity measurements.
About Terrestrial Energy USA
Terrestrial Energy USA is developing the Integral Molten Salt Reactor (IMSR) for U.S. market deployment. The IMSR is a Generation IV reactor technology that represents true innovation in cost and functionality. It will provide safe, clean, reliable and cost-competitive heat for many industrial applications, including electric power provision and heat for industrial processes, such as chemical synthesis and desalination. The IMSR extends the applicability of nuclear energy beyond its current footprint in on-grid electric power markets. It offers a promising pathway to deep decarbonization by displacing fossil fuel combustion across a broad industrial front. Using an innovative design based on proven Molten Salt Reactor technology, IMSR power plants can be in commercial operation in the late 2020s.
About Argonne National Laboratory
Argonne National Laboratory seeks solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology. The nation’s first national laboratory, Argonne conducts leading-edge basic and applied scientific research in virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne researchers work closely with researchers from hundreds of companies, universities, and federal, state and municipal agencies to help them solve their specific problems, advance America’s scientific leadership and prepare the nation for a better future. With employees from more than 60 nations, Argonne is managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science.
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