Oak Ridge National Laboratory – ORNL from the U.S. Department of Energy and Kairos Power have struck a $27 million strategic partnership so as to speed up the technology that is required to roll out a new-gen advanced nuclear reactors and also support the U.S. nuclear energy objectives.
As per the partnership, ORNL is going to offer expertise along with access to specialized facilities in order to review and assess numerous aspects pertaining to the novel fluoride salt-cooled high-temperature reactor design of Kairos Power, which makes use of molten fluoride salt coolant having Tristructural ISOtropic – TRISO fuel in order to generate dependable energy with strong inherent safety.
ORNL is also going to manufacture components related to reactor development as well as testing and evaluate the coated particle fuel performance following irradiation as per the conditions that are relevant to their reactor operation, which is planned. The fact is that at the end of the day the outcomes of the project are going to help with the design and construction as well as the eventual functionality of the planned Hermes demonstration reactors under construction in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, by Kairos Power and the subsequent commercialization of the planned fluoride salt-cooled high-temperature reactor.
ORNL went on to showcase the proof-of-concept along with the performance of the first molten salt reactor in the world 60 years ago. Since then, ORNL has actually nurtured the consistent development related to molten salt reactor tech, which makes use of salt and not water as the primary source of coolant.
According to Stephen Streiffer, the ORNL Director, “Providing the scientific basis for new technology is what we do at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. With energy demand expected to increase substantially by 2050, our continued partnerships with U.S. industry, including Kairos Power, are how we will bring more reliable, affordable energy to market.
Making its way to readiness
It is worth noting that the DOE happens to be investing almost $303 million in terms of risk reduction funding in Hermes demonstration reactors from Kairos Power as per the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program in order to mature the molten salt reactor design of the company.
Says chief technology officer and co-founder of Kairos Power, Ed Blandford, “DOE’s support has been instrumental in helping Kairos Power accelerate our path to technological maturity. By collaborating with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, we gain access to decades of expertise and a unique set of capabilities that we couldn’t find anywhere else. We are pleased to partner with the lab as we work to deploy safe, reliable advanced reactor technology that builds on Oak Ridge’s nuclear legacy.”
The fact is that in the next five years, ORNL is going to offer major learnings from testing and evaluation that’s conducted across its specialized facilities, which include the Coated Particle Fuel Development Laboratory, the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility as well as Irradiated Fuels Examination Laboratory.
The distinct mix of infrastructure capabilities that is offered across these facilities is indeed unparalleled when we talk specifically of the private sector.
Says ORNL Director Stephen Streiffer, “As the energy demand is anticipated to rise substantially by 2050, our continued partnerships with U.S. industry, including Kairos Power, are how we will bring more reliable, affordable energy to market.”
The scope of work has in it:
- Evaluating fuel manufacturing along with synthesis methods in order to assess the quality of the product and various production methods when it comes to TRISO fuel particles
- Gauging the TRISO fuel pebbles’ properties in order to support a fabrication capacity along with quality control infrastructure
- Accomplishing a comprehensive spent fuel pebble management plan in order to include the on-site cask storage and transportation as well as final disposition
- Producing components that use advanced manufacturing techniques so as to better gauge how materials that come in contact with the salt, like ceramics, carbon composites as well as metallic materials, go on to perform in temperatures that are extremely high
- Helping with remote maintenance systems that are capable of functioning under high temperatures with simultaneous exposure in terms of radiation as well as corrosive salts.
This data is going to thereafter inform the next steps that are required towards commercial operation.
Interim section head of Nuclear Fuel Development at ORNL, Chris Petrie remarks, “It’s exciting to see how our historical lineage in molten salt reactor technology and coated particle fuel are being leveraged with the lab’s more recent advances in additive manufacturing to support Kairos Power in building the first advanced reactor of its kind in our own backyard. Our expertise, paired with Kairos Power’s iterative approach to progressively demonstrating the technology, allows us to learn faster and ultimately accelerate the deployment of more nuclear energy to the grid.”
The Nuclear innovation web
Notably, the project happens to mark the fourth collaboration between ORNL and Kairos Power ever since 2020, and it continues with the prominent interest in nuclear energy in the Oak Ridge Corridor as well as across the state of Tennessee.
Due to the proximity to signature capabilities of ORNL when it comes to nuclear energy and major partners from the nuclear engineering program of the University of Tennessee Knoxville, the East Tennessee Economic Council, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and leaders in industry, East Tennessee has now become home to the largest concentration in terms of nuclear energy and science partnerships in the world.
The interim director of the Nuclear Energy Fuel Cycle Division at ORNL, Andrew Nelson, said, “Partnerships like these are providing the economic wherewithal to build an energy ecosystem right here in East Tennessee. As the East Tennessee Economic Council has rightly observed, nuclear is here for good reason. The region brings breadth of scientific expertise, infrastructure for future workforce development, and industry innovation needed to secure our nuclear energy future.”
Ever since 1990, there has been continued research and development when it comes to nuclear energy, which includes innovation that is led out of ORNL and focused on enhancing nuclear fuels, along with operations that have aided in the 94 nuclear power plants of the country to generate 60% additional power and offer almost 20% of the electricity throughout the nation.
In the years to come, the energy demand is anticipated to see an increase across large parts due to growth within the manufacturing sector as well as the new data centers that are coming online. Nuclear capacity has to grow substantially in order to meet this need.
Nelson adds that “ORNL has a long history of driving innovation and efficiencies in the nuclear industry. Through impactful industry collaborations such as our ongoing partnership with Kairos Power, I am confident that we will see an ever-expanding portfolio of nuclear power plants in the future.”
The fact is that ORNL is indeed committed so as to offer support to the U.S. energy needs through pursuing strategic research, which goes on to advance an array of easy-on-the-pocket, rich, as well as competitive nuclear technologies, and make the national security stronger. The scientific expertise of the lab, along with the world-class facilities, is often the first step when it comes to advancing nuclear energy innovations such as the new-gen advanced nuclear reactors technology.
