US-based Terrestrial Energy, developer of the Integral Molten Salt Reactor (IMSR), has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Numerical Advisory Solutions (NAS) based in Cary, North Carolina, to collaborate further on site evaluation, plant development, and project deployment for its IMSR. NAS, a Zachry Group company, provides engineering for the design and safe operation of nuclear plants, including software tools and analysis.
The IMSR design is for a 442 MWt per Core-unit (IMSR400) small modular molten salt fuelled, graphite moderated, thermal spectrum reactor. Terrestrial Energy has developed a two-unit configuration which can deliver 884 MWt/390 MWe. The design features a completely sealed reactor vessel with integrated pumps, heat exchangers and shutdown rods all mounted inside a single vessel.
The sealed Core-unit is replaced completely at the end of its useful service life (nominally seven years). This allows factory production levels of quality control and economy, while avoiding any need to open and service the reactor vessel at the power plant site. The IMSR400 achieves the highest levels of inherent safety as it does not depend on operator intervention, powered mechanical components, coolant injection or their support systems such as electricity supply or instrument air in dealing with upset conditions. It operates at the high temperature required for broad industrial relevance It is designed to use standard assay low enriched uranium fuel.
Since 2022, NAS has been assisting Terrestrial Energy with thermohydraulic modelling of systems in the IMSR. The MOU expands this relationship to a strategic collaboration, which leverages NAS’s extensive relationships in the industrial sector to accelerate IMSR plant development and plant deployment. The parties intend to work initially to evaluate US sites for IMSR plant deployment with a focus on Texas, and then subsequently on project development through to construction and commercial operation.
Terrestrial Energy CEO Simon Irish said: “Our partnership with Zachry, a market leader in engineering services with expertise in key industrial sectors and regional markets, expands the capacity of our IMSR deployment to reach multiple sectors and markets, including the industrial sector based in Texas.” NAS President Jim Harrell said: “We look forward to working together to select sites for IMSR Plant deployment and project development.”
In June, Terrestrial Energy joined the Texas Nuclear Alliance as a founding member. The Alliance’s mission is to strengthen the nuclear value chain in the state, advocate for the deployment of nuclear energy technology to meet the state’s growing energy needs, and respond to the establishment in 2023 by Texas Governor Gregg Abbott of a working group to advise on policy for the development and deployment of advanced nuclear reactors in Texas.
