THORIUM MOLTEN SALT REACTOR | SMRs & ADVANCED REACTORS Pump
Heat exchanger
Container vessel
Insulation wall
Condenser Cocoon
coolant salt
Nitrate
Fluoride coolant salt
Decay heat path
Fluoride blanket salt
Heavy water
Above: Schematic of the Copenhagen Atomics reactor design
1960s at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (USA). As the internet gained traction around 2000 the IP behind this technology was made available, and it was picked up by many university groups around the world. That was how the resurgence of interest in molten salt reactors first started, leading to an industry that is currently emerging.
Six milestones Copenhagen Atomics has defined six milestones (see image opposite) that underpin and characterise the company, from inception to the end-game of building a breeder reactor that will supply cheap, abundant energy for potentially
thousands of years going forward. ● Milestone #1. Copenhagen Atomics has been working on the first milestone since 2014, having obtained several valuable patents and developed new methods and products that did not exist before. The company also makes some of these innovations available for sale to others (eg molten salt test loop technology and highly purified salts), as part of a win-win collaboration, with Copenhagen Atomics receiving data from fellow molten salt researchers. The components can still be improved, but Milestone #1 is considered 95% complete.
● Milestone #2 is currently 75% complete. Two non-fission full-scale reactor prototypes have been built, and the company is in the process of ordering the third. The third reactor will be tested with thorium and uranium salts at 600°C.
● Milestone #3 involves a 1 MWt demonstration/test reactor with the goal of proving the ability to build and operate a molten salt reactor with a thorium blanket—a feat never accomplished before. The test reactor is expected to run for a 30-day cycle towards a regulatory approval in a country with nuclear experience and has all the features of a commercial reactor, in scaled down form. The test reactor is necessary to prove the accuracy of the simulations as well as material, production methods and volatile fission product removal. The focus for the next two years will be on achieving Milestone #3, drawing on the extensive experience gained from over 140 years of test time in attaining Milestone #2. Current build of a non-fission prototype for the 1 MWt demo reactor will validate the reactor design using a non-nuclear fuel salt, and this is expected to be an operational demo reactor ready by 2025.
● Milestone #4 is expected to be relatively straightforward after achieving Milestone #3, although running several versions of test reactors may be necessary before constructing five to ten commercial reactors. The aim is to have commercial reactors available by 2028, pending approval from countries ready to endorse such advanced reactors. Assembly of the ten commercial reactors is planned at the current company headquarters.
● This sets the stage for Milestone #5, involving assembly line production of reactors and rapid installation at a small number of sites. Copenhagen Atomics will establish assembly line production in a “Giga-factory” setting,
Water coolant
Above left: Copenhagen Atomics has built a fully operational non-fission prototype reactor Above right: Top view of the non-fission prototype reactor with the ‘onion’ core on the right side of the picture
www.neimagazine.com | June 2024 | 31
Heat to customer
Water chiller
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