“Atomic batteries” for maritime come one step nearer

Integrated effects test (IET) facility installed at TerraPower’s laboratory in Everett, Wash.

Though nuclear power is widely seen as a promising option for future zero-carbon ship propulsion, the new types of reactor being proposed for ships are still under development. The good news is that the technology is getting nearer. London-based Core Power (UK) Ltd., which plans to build “atomic batteries” for ships based on molten salt reactor (MSR) technology, reports that development has taken a huge step forward with the successful start of pumped-salt operations at a dedicated facility in Everett, Wash.

Project partners Core Power, Southern Company and TerraPower (the nuclear innovation company founded and chaired by Bill Gates) see this as an important new phase in taking the project to bring TerraPower’s first-of-a-kind molten chloride fast reactor (MCFR) to market.

A project team has previously completed mechanical, electrical and controls verification and commissioned all systems at an integrated effects test (IET) facility installed at TerraPower’s laboratory in Everett, Wash. Chloride salt has now been loaded into the primary coolant salt loops and pumped-salt operations have begun. It marks the start of a multi-month test campaign which will provide valuable salt operations data and know-how for the MCFR program.

“The startup of the integrated effects test is a milestone achievement in the development of the first fast-spectrum molten salt reactor, and we are immensely proud to contribute to its success,” said Mikal Bøe, president and CEO of Core Power. “The integrated effects test allows us to collect that crucial last-mile data for a design and build of the molten chloride fast reactor, and takes the team one step closer to a genuinely unique way to do new nuclear that is appropriate for the commercial marine environment.”

The project was initiated by Southern Company and TerraPower under the U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Reactor Concepts (ARC-15) award, a multiyear effort to promote the design, construction and operation of Generation-IV nuclear reactors. The project team also includes Core Power, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Idaho National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Vanderbilt University.

“It’s exciting to see each new landmark in the integrated effects test, as it helps our nation rebuild lost molten salt reactor knowledge,” said Dr. Mark S. Berry, Southern Company Services senior vice president of research and development.

“The molten chloride fast reactor has the potential to meet the carbon-free needs of hard-to-decarbonize industrial sectors including and beyond electricity. The Integrated effects test will help us gather and evaluate data to support the development of our technology, and we are excited to launch pumped-salt operations,” said Jeff Latkowski, senior vice president innovation at TerraPower.

“New nuclear for maritime is the only solution that can take the ocean transport industry to actual zero,” said Bøe. “It’s the end game of our energy transition and with solid progress being made in building a new nuclear technology that actually works for shipping, we see the momentum continuing to build.”

More on the test program from Southern Company HERE