THERMAL POWER | SMRs The FLEX reactor has been developed to provide energy at a cost
comparable to that of burning fossil fuels. Furthermore, its 750°C high temperature output offers the potential for higher-efficiency energy turbines mature
conversion as technologies such as super-critical CO2
uranium as a feedstock for the fuel – this material is available now and is generally accepted round the world without the development of new safeguard protocols. The company aims to produce its first-of-a-kind plant by the end of the decade. The FLEX reactor is inherently and passively safe. The design philosophy centres on reducing or eliminating hazards through the fundamental characteristics of the technology, along with passive measures to manage residual risks. It relies on inherent safety features such as the containment of volatile fission products as salts within the fuel salt, and passive control systems such as the expansion and contraction of molten salt with temperature to insert or withdraw neutron poison from the core to control the reactor. This approach offers a considerable advantage over other reactor technologies, which rely far more heavily on active safety systems with complex backup systems to ensure reliability of operation. The FLEX reactor has been developed to provide energy
at a cost comparable to that of burning fossil fuels. Furthermore, its 750°C high temperature output offers the potential for higher-efficiency energy conversion as technologies such as super-critical CO2
GridReserve® system for hours or days. This energy can
be released when demand outstrips supply, enabling the FLEX and GridReserve®
system to complement intermittent
renewable energy by rapidly responding to changes in demand and providing dispatchable generation to address dips in output. For technical and economic reasons, conventional nuclear plants are less able to provide this flexibility.
The FLEX reactor’s output heat can be directly used for on- and off-grid electricity generation or for downstream
applications, including: ● Direct heat for district heating or industrial processes (as much as two-thirds of all heat use in European industry is below 700°C);
● High-temperature electrolysis to produce clean hydrogen (the FLEX reactor can also support more efficient thermochemical production of hydrogen); and ● As a power source for water desalination plants.
Additionally, the FLEX reactor can be reconfigured for marine applications, principally for ship propulsion. A FLEX reactor outputs 40 MWt, equivalent to 16 MWe;
turbines mature.
Given the vast challenge involved in deep decarbonisation, the ability to produce high-temperature heat cost- effectively will be as important as producing low-cost electricity.
Complementing renewables The output temperature of the FLEX reactor enables cost-effective storage of thermal energy in the molten salt
heat can be produced at a levelized cost of £10/MWh (US$12.4/MWh), whereas electricity can be produced at approximately £30/MWh (US$37.3/MWh). Each reactor has a ground footprint similar to that of a typical three- bedroom house. They can be deployed singly or in arrays of any number to provide energy at the gigawatt scale. For example, an array of 32 units may be deployed in combination with the GridReserve®
to deliver 1.5 GWe for eight hours of peak demand.
thermal storage facility
Above: This schematic drawing again shows the simple design of the FLEX reactor design – keeping the radioactive fuel salt in tubes simplifies the corrosion control challenge, and pumped flow is replaced by natural convection in the reactor island
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