Moltex Energy Canada has validated its Waste to Stable Salt (WATSS) process on used fuel bundles from a commercial CANDU reactor through hot cell experiments undertaken by Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) following seven years of rigorous development.
The WATSS process seeks to convert used nuclear fuel into an asset through an efficient 24-hour chemical process. Moltex has demonstrated that it can extract 90% of the transuranic material in 24-hours, and with greater efficiency over longer periods of time.
The Government of Canada’s Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) and Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency have supported the development of this technology. The development of WATSS was also supported by the Province of New Brunswick and NB Power. Moltex’s collaboration partners include IDOM and CANDU Energy.
Indigenous communities in New Brunswick are also supportive of the technology and have invested in its development. Jim Ward, General Manager, North Shore Mi’kmaq Tribal Council said: “Our investment in Moltex was driven by the potential to make nuclear more sustainable and reduce nuclear waste liability. Moltex also engaged with us at the earliest stages of the project. We are pleased to see this important milestone being met and look forward to more to come.”
Moltex said that with 66 reactors currently under construction and more than 80 small modular reactor designs being progressed across the world, WATSS offers a financially attractive pathway to managing higher waste volumes more sustainably.
WATSS provides a robust, commercially viable alternative to conventional direct disposal methods. By coupling WATSS with Moltex’s Stable Salt Reactor – Wasteburner (SSR-W), the technology not only reduces waste volumes dramatically but also transforms nuclear waste into dispatchable energy, permanently eliminating long-lived transuranic elements such as plutonium. WATSS can also produce fuel for other reactor types. Moltex is also developing GridReserve thermal energy storage tanks, which enable the SSR-W to act as a peaking plant.
“It’s crucial that increased demand for nuclear energy is matched by increased back-end fuel cycle capabilities,” said Moltex CEO Rory O’Sullivan. “WATSS is a transformative solution that not only reduces liabilities but also adds value, turning waste into a valuable energy asset.”
Moltex was selected by NB Power to progress the development of its reactor technology in New Brunswick, Canada, with the goal of deploying first-of-a-kind SSR-W, WATSS and GridReserve units at the Point Lepreau site.
