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Southern, TerraPower advance development of molten salt reactor

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Southern, TerraPower advance development of molten salt reactor

Southern Co. and advanced nuclear technology company TerraPower LLC said Oct. 3 that they have reached a milestone in their development of molten salt nuclear reactor technology with the successful beginning of pumped-salt operations in an integrated effects test.

"Southern Company believes the next generation of nuclear power holds promise in providing an affordable and sustainable net-zero future that includes reliable, resilient and dispatchable clean energy for customers," Mark Berry, Southern Co. Services senior vice president of research and development, said in a statement. "It's exciting to see each new landmark in the Integrated Effects Test, as it helps our nation rebuild lost molten salt reactor knowledge."

The integrated effects test is a nonnuclear, externally heated, up to 1-MW multiloop system, which Southern called the "world's largest chloride salt system developed by the nuclear sector." The project was initiated by Southern and TerraPower under a US Energy Department Advanced Reactor Concepts award, a multiyear effort to promote design, construction and operation of Generation IV nuclear reactors. The project team for this project, a Molten Chloride Fast Reactor, also includes Core Power (UK) Ltd., which develops advanced nuclear technologies for maritime use; the Electric Power Research Institute; Idaho National Laboratory; Oak Ridge National Laboratory; and Vanderbilt University.

Since installing the integrated effects test at TerraPower's lab in Everett, Wash., the project team has completed mechanical, electrical and controls verification and commissioned all systems for the project.

Commissioning employed hot argon and chloride salts to confirm readiness, including flushing drain tanks and verifying the operation of freeze valves, which Southern said is a unique and key component for salt systems.

Chloride salt has now been loaded into the primary coolant salt loops and pumped-salt operations have begun, Southern said. Next, a test campaign expected to last several months will provide salt operations data for the project.

"The Molten Chloride Fast Reactor has the potential to meet the carbon-free needs of hard-to-decarbonize industrial sectors including and beyond electricity," said Jeff Latkowski, senior vice president at TerraPower for the Molten Chloride Fast Reactor. "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."

Next-generation nuclear reactors such as the Molten Chloride Fast Reactor promise "stable value" to customers similar to the currently operating nuclear fleet and can complement renewable generation on the grid, Southern said.

The integrated effects test will inform design, licensing and operation of a roughly 180-MW Molten Chloride Fast Reactor demonstration planned for the early 2030s, according to Southern.

Another TerraPower project, the Natrium reactor, will be delayed by at least two years without a sufficient fuel source following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the company disclosed in December 2022.

In July, Southern announced the first of two new units at its Alvin W. Vogtle Nuclear Plant had reached commercial operation, nearly 17 years after launching the expansion effort.

The two-unit Vogtle expansion, one of the largest infrastructure investments in the US power sector over the last two decades, is expected to add more than 2,200 MW of generating capacity once the second unit reaches commercial operation, scheduled to begin in late fourth-quarter 2023 or the first quarter of 2024.

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