Rueil-Malmaison, France; Charlotte, NC – April 24, 2024 – Terrestrial Energy, a developer of Generation IV advanced nuclear power plants that use its proprietary Integral Molten Salt Reactor (IMSR) technology for industrial heat and power supply, and Schneider Electric, a Fortune Global 500 supplier of digital control systems for energy management, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to jointly develop commercial opportunities and advance the deployment of IMSR plants.
Terrestrial Energy’s IMSR plant is designed to be small and modular for swift construction, scalable deployment, and to achieve transformative improvements in nuclear energy economics. Its heat and power supply has many industrial uses that require reliable, baseload zero-carbon energy supply at near-site locations, such as dedicated power for large data centers and cogeneration for heavy industrial facilities. Schneider Electric systems automate and optimize energy management for improved performance, efficiency, and contribute to the commercial and sustainability goals of its customers.
This collaboration offers solutions to the major energy challenges faced by data center operators and many heavy industries operating a wide range of industrial processes such as hydrogen, ammonia, aluminum, and steel production. These high-energy users require low-cost, reliable and emissions-free baseload supply that offers an alternative to intermittent renewable power with storage or carbon emitting fossil fuel power plants.
“Schneider Electric’s value proposition is to leverage Digital Twin technology across the full IMSR project lifecycle and during operations – resulting in a reduction of project time to market and cost as well as more efficient operations,” said Gary Lawrence, President of Power & Grid Systems at Schneider Electric. “We are excited to collaborate with Terrestrial Energy on IMSR deployment projects and contribute to meeting the increasing demand for electrification across different market segments.”
“Schneider Electric is the leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation, a supplier with capabilities central to the reliable and efficient operation of IMSR plants,” said Simon Irish, CEO of Terrestrial Energy. “The IMSR’s use of next-generation fission technology – Generation IV molten salt technology – delivers the transformative improvements in the commercial performance of nuclear energy necessary to meet the fast-growing demand for zero-carbon energy across many industrial applications and markets. We look forward to our partnership with Schneider Electric at this exciting time.”
In April 2023, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), following a systematic and multi-year review against nuclear regulatory requirements, concluded that there were no fundamental barriers to licensing the IMSR plant for commercial use. This was the first-ever regulatory review of a commercial nuclear plant using molten salt reactor technology and the first advanced, high-temperature fission technology to complete a review of this type.
