TerraPower begins UK design assessment process
TerraPower has formally notified UK regulators that it plans to begin the generic design approval process for its Natrium sodium-cooled fast reactor, a first step towards deploying the technology in an international market.
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The nuclear innovation company said it has submitted a letter to the UK's Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) that formally establishes its intention to enter the UK Generic Design Assessment (GDA) process.
The process is used by the UK's nuclear and environmental regulators - the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) and the Environment Agency - to scrutinise designs for new nuclear power stations at an early stage, allowing potential design or technical concerns to be recognised early on and resolved before a developer formulates detailed plans for building at a specific site or applies for licences or permits. The Environment Agency estimates that it takes around 4 years to complete the three-step process.
TerraPower, co-founded by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, broke ground for its first Natrium plant, in Wyoming, USA, last year and said the regulatory milestones from that project will be used as the basis of its GDA application.
TerraPower President and CEO Chris Levesque said the company has been in active discussions in the UK "for years", adding that there is "immense interest and opportunity for the United States and United Kingdom to cooperate on deploying advanced nuclear plants over the coming decade".
The Natrium technology features a 345 MWe sodium-cooled fast reactor with a molten salt-based energy storage system. The storage technology can boost the system’s output to 500 MWe for more than five and a half hours when needed and allows a Natrium plant to integrate seamlessly with renewable resources, TerraPower says. The Natrium reactor is a TerraPower and GE Hitachi technology.
GDAs have previously been completed for the EDF/Areva UK EPR, the Westinghouse AP1000, the Hitachi-GE UK ABWR and the CGN/EDF/GNI UK HPR1000 designs. GDAs are currently ongoing for Rolls-Royce SMR Limited's small modular reactor design, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy's BWRX-300 and Holtec International's SMR-300. Westinghouse's AP300 was accepted for a GDA review in August 2024, and in December, France-based reactor developer Newcleo submitted an application for its LFR-AS-200 small modular lead-cooled fast reactor to begin the process.
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