On track: The draft SE was completed a month ahead of schedule. According to the NRC letter, “With continued focus by both parties [the NRC and US SFR Owner, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of TerraPower], the NRC staff is targeting completion of the final SE by June 2026, ahead of the August 2026 date communicated in our June 12, 2024, schedule letter. . . . The environmental review is scheduled for completion in May 2026; and the overall resource estimate remains on track.”
Up next: The NRC letter adds that the NRC staff needs additional information to support completion of its safety review, including the following:
- Materials qualification for environmental compatibility.
- Appropriate special treatment for design and construction of safety-significant structures, systems, and components.
- Treatment of preventative functions and features within the probabilistic risk assessment (PRA).
- Documentation supporting the PRA’s use in the Licensing Modernization Project and other licensing programs.
- The safety basis for non-safety-related with special treatment seismic/structural design approaches.
The reactor: TerraPower’s Natrium reactor is a 345-MW sodium fast reactor that is coupled with the company’s innovative molten salt energy storage system, providing built-in gigawatt-scale energy storage. According to the company, “This makes the plant a perfect support for high-renewable-penetration grids where variable power output is a concern.”
The demonstration plant in Kemmerer, Wyo., will be used to test and demonstrate the performance of first-of-a-kind equipment for the reactor. It is being built through a public-private partnership between TerraPower and the Department of Energy’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program.
