US-based start-up NANO Nuclear Energy has contracted with Thermal Engineering International (TEi), a Babcock Power company, to advance the design and fabrication of several heat exchangers for use in its portable ODIN nuclear microreactor currently under development.
TEi will develop detailed designs for key heat exchanger technology integral to the ODIN microreactor. This includes the eventual fabrication of both primary and secondary heat exchangers. TEi will lead a broad, cross-functional initiative, drawing on its expertise to design practical heat transfer systems in collaboration with NANO Nuclear’s technical team, from procurement to the eventual fabrication of the exchangers.
The partnership also positions NANO Nuclear to benefit from TEi’s established relationships with material suppliers and testing facilities, critical for nuclear component manufacturing. This represents a significant milestone in transitioning from design to practical implementation. However, the success will depend on effectively managing the complex interface between innovative design requirements and established manufacturing processes.
Ken Murakoshi, TEi President & CEO said: “TEi is excited to contribute to the successful deployment of NANO Nuclear’s ODIN transportable reactor and help advance clean, portable energy solutions for the future.” According to James Walker, CEO & Head of Reactor Development at NANO Nuclear, “The design and fabrication of heat exchangers will mark a critical milestone in ODIN’s development roadmap, and TEi is well-equipped to oversee this essential phase. By designing and fabricating these heat transfer technologies, we can advance our testing and demonstration efforts that will support our prototype construction, while equipping our world-class technical teams with data that can be broadly applied to our other reactors in development.”
Professor Ian Farnan, Lead for Nuclear Fuel Cycle, Radiation and Materials at NANO Nuclear said: “Incorporating the heat exchangers into a compact system like ODIN marks a significant milestone in advancing our proprietary microreactor design. TEi’s expertise is well known in designing these critical heat transfer solutions. Accelerating this aspect of the compact reactor design is vital for meeting our milestones and ensuring that the microreactor meets our operational requirements.”
According to Professor Eugene Shwageraus, Lead of Nuclear Reactor Engineering at NANO Nuclear: “By having such a reputable industry partner for both primary and secondary exchanger designs, we can optimize performance while maintaining the highest safety standards and ensure that the reactor functions at the highest achievable efficiency. We believe this collaboration will help minimise developments risks going forward and ensure we meet performance benchmarks before advancing to full demonstration.”
NANO Nuclear said the heat transfer systems are essential components within the ODIN microreactor and their integration marks a significant milestone in advancing NANO Nuclear’s proprietary microreactor toward demonstration, regulatory licensing and eventual market introduction.
This agreement an external technical audit of the ODIN reactor by the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in February 2024, during which crucial design solutions and the system components were examined, reassuring the design development strategy. The review was requested by NANO Nuclear to provide an external audit of the technical work completed to date on the microreactor. Nano said the review served to ensure that it had “thoroughly considered the necessary aspects of its design and the applicable regulations for advancing the technology towards a commercial product”.
NANO announced development of ODIN in March 2023 “to diversify its technology portfolio, as the design requirements can be met through different technological solutions”. This followed earlier announcements about its ZEUS advanced nuclear micro reactor designed to be modular and to connect with local power grids or power systems, “revolutionising recovery from natural disasters and how remote communities, mining project, and military bases, among others, obtain consistent electricity”.
NANO said the ODIN design will utilise conventional sintered pellet uranium dioxide (UO2) fuel with up to 20% enrichment, “helping to minimise the required development and testing programme schedule and costs”. The low-pressure coolant will “minimise the stress on structural components, improve their reliability and service life”. It will also “use a unique reactivity control system design, aiming to have high reliability and robustness through minimising the number of moving parts”. The “ODIN” design will aim to take maximum advantage of natural convection of coolant for heat transfer to the power conversion cycle at full power and for decay heat removal during reactor shutdown, operational transients, and off-normal conditions.
The company website has extensive information on the global potential for nuclear in general and small reactors in particular. However, it has little detailed information on the technology or reactor-type planned for either ZEUS or ODIN.
It described ODIN as “a low pressure coolant reactor” and says the design will utilise conventional fuel form with up to 20% enrichment, helping to minimise the required development and testing programme schedule and costs. It will utilise low pressure coolant to minimise the stress on structural components, improve their reliability and service life. It will also use a unique reactivity control system design, aiming to have high reliability and robustness through minimising the number of moving parts.
The reactor will operate at higher than conventional water-cooled reactor temperatures, which will allow resilient operation and high-power conversion efficiency in generating electricity. The “design will aim to take maximum advantage of natural convection of coolant for heat transfer to the power conversion cycle at full power and for decay heat removal during reactor shutdown, operational transients, and off-normal conditions.”
