Terrestrial Energy, which is developing advanced reactor power plants, said on 19 June that it has begun a feasibility study to explore siting the world's first commercial Integral Molten Salt Reactor (IMSR) power plant at Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL). The study is being conducted by CNL. The aim is to create a technology hub at CNL to support the commercialisation of small modular reactors. Terrestrial Energy CEO Simon Irish said it was “an important milestone”, which “maintains our momentum for 2020s deployment of IMSR power plants”. said, CNL President and CEO Mark Lesinski said: "Supporting the research, licensing and siting of Canada's first advanced reactors is an important part of CNL's long-term plan."
The work is being carried out in parallel with an industry wide Request For Expression Of Interest (RFEOI) recently launched by CNL. The responses to the RFEOI will inform a roadmap that takes in account the considerations of reactor developers, the supply chain, end users and other stakeholders.
Terrestrial Energy and CNL are cooperating under a business framework set out in a 2016 memorandum of understanding (MOU), which facilitates a collaborative working relationship to conduct testing and validation activities to support Terrestrial Energy's engineering programme for IMSR deployment. It covers a broad set of CNL's nuclear services including reactor physics, thermal hydraulics, metallurgy, chemistry, waste management and decommissioning. The MOU is not exclusive. CNL is not restricted from building other nuclear reactor systems at its facilities, and Terrestrial Energy is not restricted from building IMSR power plants at other locations.
