With the chaotic political situations in the world today, and faced with the problems associated with wind and solar energy, a renewed focus is being placed on developing the next generation of nuclear technologies to power the world of the future.
One such area of progress is on advanced reactors called Molten Salt Reactors. Which have many potential safety and perfomace benefits of more tradiction designs for nuclear reactors that are in use today.
US and Canadian nuclear regulators completed joint review of Terrestrial’s IMSR (molten salt) nuclear reactor.
Terrestrial Energy looks to commercialise the Generation IV small modular reactor (SMR) technology and begin operating its first plant by 2028.
Simon Irish, CEO of Terrestrial Energy, said: “This review by the Canadian and US regulators is a joint examination of the fundamentals of IMSR safety and is a cornerstone technical nuclear safety review that builds further confidence in IMSR technology and supports our national regulatory programmes.
Completing this joint review is an important step forward in the commercialization of the IMSR and paves the way for further cross-border collaboration.”
Terrestrial Energy’s IMSR is a 4th generation reactor that uses molten salt as both fuel and coolant, with integrated components, that can supply heat directly to industrial facilities or use it to generate electrical power. It aims to commission the first power plants based on the small modular reactor within a decade. Its IMSR400 configuration, with twin reactors and generators, will mean an overall power plant design with a potential output of up to 390 MWe.