Terrestrial Energy to complete US loan guarantee application

Terrestrial Energy USA has been invited by the US Department of Energy to submit the second part of its application for a US federal loan guarantee to support the licensing and construction of its Integrated Molten Salt Reactor.

Terrestrial Energy USA has been invited by the US Department of Energy (DOE) to submit the second part of its application for a US federal loan guarantee to support the licensing and construction of its Integrated Molten Salt Reactor (IMSR).

IMSR nuclear island (Image: Terrestrial Energy)

The company is applying for a loan guarantee of between $800 million to $1.2 billion to support financing of a project to license, construct and commission the first US IMSR. Idaho National Laboratory has been identified as a lead candidate site for the first 190 MWe commercial plant.

Duke to advise Terrestrial

The USA's largest electric utility, Duke Energy, has joined Terrestrial Energy's corporate industrial advisory board. Members of the board already include Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Ontario Power Generation, Public Service Enterprise Group and Energy Northwest.

The US DOE's loan guarantee program supports the financing of projects employing innovative advanced energy technologies that avoid, reduce, or sequester anthropogenic emission of greenhouse gases. Terrestrial Energy USA applied for a guarantee under DOE's $12.6 billion solicitation for loan guarantees for the deployment of advanced nuclear energy projects, issued in 2014. The DOE's Loan Programs Office has now evaluated Part I of Terrestrial Energy USA's application and invited the company to submit the second part.

Molten salt reactors use fuel dissolved in a molten fluoride or chloride salt which functions as both the fuel (producing the heat) and the coolant (transporting the heat away and ultimately to the power plant). This means that such a reactor could not suffer from a loss of coolant leading to a meltdown. Terrestrial's IMSR integrates the primary reactor components, including primary heat exchangers to secondary clean salt circuit, in a sealed and replaceable core vessel. It is designed as a modular reactor for factory fabrication, and could be used for electricity production and industrial process heat generation.

Earlier this year, Terrestrial Energy USA parent, Canada-based Terrestrial Energy Inc, announced its plans to engage with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission in a pre-licensing design review, a first step towards an eventual licence application.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News