China Begins Commercial Operation of 1st HTGR

• China Begins Commercial Operation of 1st HTGR
• UK Awards Holtec £30M to Support Generic Design Assessment effort for its SMR
• KHNP to Promote i-SMR in Indonesia, Jordan
• OPG Selects Suppliers for Fuel Contracts for BWRX300 SMRs
• Uranium Energy Deal with TerraPower’s Naturium Reactor
• X-energy Finalizes $235 Million Series C Financing
• Rolls-Royce Microreactor Slated for Moon Mission in 2030s

China Begins Commercial Operation of 1st HTGR

• Operation of Shidao Bay-1 GEN IV HTR-PM of ‘great significance’ for country’s nuclear power development

(NucNet) The Shidao Bay-1 nuclear power in China has begun commercial operation, becoming what Beijing says is the first Generation IV* plant in the world to go online. The HTR-PM (high-temperature reactor-pebble-bed modules) plant, in Shandong province was given permission to start commercial operation after it operated for 168 consecutive hours.  (IAEA ARIS DBMS Technical Profile)

Image: IAEA ARIS Data, Pg 7

China has said the Shidao Bay station, owned by China Huaneng Group, will ultimately have 10 units. Each unit consists of two small HTR-PM reactors of about 100 MW driving a single 210 MW steam turbine.

Construction of the plant, also known as Shidaowan, began in 2012 and it was connected to the grid in 2021. According to a Chinese state owned news media report, the plant is suitable for small and medium-sized power grids and has a range of potential commercial applications, including power generation, cogeneration of heat and power, and high-temperature process heat applications.

Background: The Key ‘Differentiators

Among the HTR-PM’s distinctive differentiators, when compared to pressurized water reactor technology is that it uses helium as a coolant.

The Tsinghua’s Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology said that as an ideal inert gas, helium has stable chemical properties, does not easily react with other materials in the reactor at high temperatures, and has good thermodynamic properties.

In addition, unlike light water reactors and heavy water reactors that use water and heavy water as moderators – materials that help slow down the speed of neutron movement and sustain a fission reaction – HTGRs use graphite as the moderator, mainly for its good high-temperature resistance.

WNN said in its report on the Chinese HTGR another notable aspect of the pebble-bed design is that it uses a heat-resistant all-ceramic-coated particle spherical nuclear fuel element.  Each reactor is loaded with more than 400,000 spherical fuel elements (‘pebbles’), each 60 mm in diameter and containing 7g of fuel enriched to 8.5%. Each pebble has an outer layer of graphite and contains some 12,000 four-layer ceramic-coated fuel particles dispersed in a graphite matrix.

The fuel has high inherent safety characteristics, and has been shown to remain intact and to continue to contain radioactivity at temperatures up to 1620°C – far higher than the temperatures that would be encountered even in extreme accident situations. (Technical data provided to World Nuclear News by the China Nuclear Energy Association.)

Operation  is of  ‘Great Significance

According to World Nuclear News, Zhang Zuoyi, who has worked as designer on the HTGR program and is dean of the nuclear energy and new energy technology institute at Tsinghua University, was reportedly quoted by state-owned China Daily as saying commercial operation of Shidao Bay-1 is of “great significance in promoting the safety, as well as the scientific, technological and innovation capabilities of China’s nuclear power development.”

In an interview last year for World Nuclear Association’s World Nuclear Performance Report 2022, Lu Hua Quan, chairman of the Nuclear Research Institute, Huaneng Company, explained: “HTRs have the highest operating temperatures of all existing reactor types, and are also the only reactors that can provide very high-temperature process heat.”

He said there was export potential, especially to countries and regions where freshwater resources were scarce, adding that “HTRs could in the future provide a source of high-quality high-temperature process heat for various industries, in particular those that are required to limit their carbon emissions.”

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UK Awards Holtec £30 Million to Support Generic Design Assessment effort for its SMR

• Company also continuing ‘pre-application dialogue’ with US regulator

(NucNet) The UK government has awarded Holtec Britain £30m (€35M, $37M) of funding to complete Steps 1 and 2 of the generic design assessment (GDA) as the first milestones towards UK deployment of the company’s SMR-300 small modular reactor.

Holtec said it will out the advanced pressurized water reactor unit through the scrutiny of the UK regulators – the Office for Nuclear Regulation, the Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales – while continuing its pre-application dialogue with the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

UK minister for nuclear Andrew Bowie said the government is committing public funds to nuclear for the first time in a generation. “Today’s news represents a multi-million investment to develop cutting-edge technology which could transform how power stations are built by making construction faster and cheaper.”

Holtec is also taking part in a competition announced earlier to be chosen for funding for SMR deployment. That competition is being run by Great British Nuclear, a body established to help deliver the government’s commitment to provide a quarter of the UK’s electricity from nuclear energy by 2050, up from around 14% today.

Holtec said it is planning a large expansion in the region should it be successful in the Great British Nuclear competition, with a factory to build the major mechanical SMR components and other new businesses to support deployment.

Other SMR projects include Rolls-Royce SMR proposals to build reactors at Oldbury and Berkeley in the southwest of England and Balfour Beatty’s proposals with Holtec Britain to develop plans for a SMR-160 pressurized light-water reactor in the UK.

The London-based Nuclear Industry Association welcomed the funding for Holtec, saying it shows the UK is committed to its new nuclear program, “which needs to be rolled out at pace and at scale to ensure we ramp up nuclear so we can deliver clean power for net zero and good, green jobs for our communities”.

Holtec has been developing its SMR-300 unit since 2011. The SMR-300 is a pressurized water reactor producing around 300 MW of electrical power or 1,050 MW of thermal power for process applications. Its is an uprated version of Holtec’s original 16-0 MW SMR design which is still the only design currently before the NRC for pre-licensing reviews of technical papers.

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KHNP to Promote i-SMR in Indonesia, Jordan

• It signed a MOU with Indonesia’s Nusantara Power and inked a tech exchange deal with Jordan Atomic Energy Commission

Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP) is promoting the introduction of innovative small modular reactors (i-SMR) in Indonesia and Jordan. KHNP announced at COP28 it has plans to develop and build i-SMRs in Indonesia. Nusantara Power, responsible for around 28% of Indonesia’s total power generation capacity, is currently focusing on replacing its existing thermal power plants with eco-friendly energy sources.

In addition, Korea Hydro plans to pursue the deployment of innovative SMRs in Jordan. To achieve this, the company signed a cooperation agreement with the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC). In addition, KHNP signed a business agreement with the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC).

Both sides will collaborate on comprehensive technology exchange and information sharing related to i-SMR. JAEC is preparing for bidding to select a preferred negotiator after technical evaluations and design reviews with leading international SMR developers next year.

KHNP aims to develop a roadmap for the construction of a 170 MWe integrated pressurized heavy water type (PHWR) SMR, with completion of standard design by the end of 2025 and obtaining standard design approval by 2028. If successful, it will be the first PHWR type SMR developed for export. PHWRs use natural uranium and heavy water to achieve nuclear fission.

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OPG Selects Suppliers For Fuel Contracts for BWRX300 SMRs

Ontario Power Generation (OPG) plans to complete building the first of a fleet of four GE-HItcahi BWRX-300 SMRs at its Darlington New Nuclear site by the end of 2028. The units are expected to enter revenue service by the end of 2029. OPG announced that it has selected four companies from Canada, the USA and France to partner with to ensure a fuel supply for the first of those units.

The utility said in a press statement, “the historic arrangements signal a strengthening nuclear fuel supply chain and the self-sufficiency of western nations leading the development of nuclear generation to decarbonize their economies.”

The four contracts will involve:

• Canadian company, Cameco, which has uranium mines in Saskatchewan and a Uranium Hexafluoride (UF6) conversion facility in Port Hope, will supply natural UF6.

• US-based, Urenco USA (UUSA) will provide uranium enrichment services from their operations in Eunice, New Mexico.

• France’s Orano will provide additional Enriched Uranium Product (EUP) from their operations in France.

• US-based, Global Nuclear Fuel-Americas LLC, a GE-led joint venture, will provide fuel fabrication and related technical services and fuel assemblies.

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Uranium Energy Deal with TerraPower’s Naturium Reactor

World Nuclear News reports the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between TerraPower, which is planning to build the Natrium demonstration project at Kemmerer in Wyoming, and Uranium Energy Corp (UEC) has the goal of re-establishing domestic US supply chains of uranium fuel. It will also allow the two companies to explore the potential supply of uranium for TerraPower’s first-of-kind Natrium reactor and energy storage system, they said.

The Natrium technology is a 345 MW sodium-cooled fast reactor coupled with a molten salt-based energy storage system than can boost power output to 500 MW to serve peak demand. Earlier this year, TerraPower awarded contracts to four companies to supply services and equipment for the demonstration project, and signed an MoU with Centrus Energy Corp aimed at establishing commercial-scale, US production capabilities for the high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU) the reactor will need to operate.

UEC’s Wyoming production platform includes a portfolio of more than 20 uranium projects including four that are fully permitted for in-situ leach production including the Irigaray Central Processing Plant and Christensen Ranch ISR facilities in Johnson County, Wyoming where UEC’s initial production will be focused.

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X-energy Finalizes $235 Million Series C Financing

X-Energy Reactor Company, LLC announced that it has completed its Series C financing round with an additional $80 million from Ares Management Corporation and X-energy Founder, Kam Ghaffarian.

This additional $80 million brings the total capital raised in the Series C financing round to $235 million, including anticipated conversions of certain of the Company’s outstanding convertible notes. Previous investors in the Series C financing round include Ontario Power Generation, Curtiss-Wright Corporation, DL E&C, and Doosan Enerbility.

X-energy is developing the Xe-100, a high-temperature gas-cooled advanced small modular reactor, its proprietary TRISO-X fuel, and a mobile microreactor to safely and efficiently deliver affordable zero-carbon energy to people around the world. TRISO fuel has a more than 40-year demonstrated track record through prototype and full-scale reactors and has been called “the most robust nuclear fuel on earth” by the U.S. Department of Energy.

The U.S. Department of Energy, through its Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program, is supporting X-energy’s initial deployment of the Xe-100 at Dow’s Seadrift, Texas facility and the creation of the nation’s first commercial facility to manufacture TRISO-X high-assay low-enriched uranium-based fuel for next-generation reactors.

The project in Seadrift is focused on providing the Dow site with safe, reliable, zero carbon emissions power and steam, and will be the first grid-scale advanced nuclear reactor deployed to serve an industrial site in North America.

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Rolls-Royce Microreactor Slated for Moon Mission in 2030s

• Unit would provide power for habitation and propulsion for spacecraft

(NucNet) UK engineering giant Rolls-Royce has unveiled a nuclear space microreactor concept model that is part of a UK Space Agency backed research program to deliver an initial demonstration of a UK lunar modular nuclear reactor.

The company, whose small modular reactor division is developing land-based nuclear plants, said its plans to have a reactor ready to send to the Moon by the early 2030s.

In March 2023, Rolls-Royce secured funding of £2.9M (€3.3M, $3.6M) from the UK Space Agency, backing its research into how nuclear power could be used to support a future Moon base for astronauts. Technologies presented at the recent UK Space Conference in Belfast, Northern Ireland, were the culmination of this year’s research

Scientists and engineers at Rolls-Royce, alongside partners, have been working to further strengthen their knowledge of these complex systems. The work has focused on three key features of the microreactor: the fuel used to generate heat, the method of heat transfer and technology to convert that heat into electricity.

Rolls-Royce said all space missions depend on a power source and, as a self-contained and “power-dense” solution, a microreactor can provide power for the habitation and exploration of a planetary surface, or power and propulsion for spacecraft.

Nuclear microreactors are relatively small and lightweight compared to other power systems and could enable continuous power regardless of location, available sunlight and other environmental conditions.

Rolls-Royce said the potential applications of its microreactor technology are wide-ranging and could support commercial and defense use cases in addition to those in space. Microreactors could provide power for the habitation and exploration of a planetary surface.

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X-energy Selected to Develop Nuclear Power Source Option for Air Force Research Laboratory JETSON Program

X-Energy Reactor Company, LLC was competitively selected as part of a team led by Houston-based Intuitive Machines to design a nuclear-powered space vehicle through a contract with the Air Force Research Laboratory Space Vehicles Directorate (AFRL/RV).

Through Intuitive Machines’ $9.49 million contract, X-energy will work on AFRL/RV’s Joint Emergent Technology Supplying On-orbit Nuclear Power (JETSON) Low-power Mission application contract to develop technical solutions for satellite positioning and maneuverability using a compact nuclear power source in support of NASA’s Gateway space station– a multi-purpose outpost orbiting the Moon. This project continues X-energy’s growth in strategic space, human planetary exploration, and defense applications.

In 2022, the Department of Energy and NASA awarded IX, a joint venture between Intuitive Machines and X-energy, a contract to advance the design of a Fission Surface Power (FSP) system to deliver 40 kWe of nuclear fission-based power to the Moon by 2028. Designed to be intrinsically safe, X-energy’s space systems deliver long life and high-power output at low mass based on numerous micro-reactor innovations the company has developed in recent years.

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