| NEWS
United States Safety Design for Radiant reactor US Department of Energy (DOE) has approved the Safety Design Strategy (SDS) for US start- up Radiant Industries’ Kaleidos microreactor for possible testing in the National Reactor Innovation Center’s Demonstration of Microreactor Experiments (NRIC-DOME) test bed at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The SDS, which describes the safety analysis approach for the Kaleidos reactor, marks the initial stage in a comprehensive safety review process each microreactor developer must undertake before a fuelled test can take place at INL. Radiant Industries was set up in 2019 by
former SpaceX engineers. Its Kaleidos design is a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) which will use TRISO fuel, a helium coolant, and a graphite moderator. All components will be fitted in a single shipping container to facilitate rapid deployment. It is designed to produce 1.2 MWe or 1.9 MWt for heating or water desalination, as a potential replacement for diesel generators. Following testing that is scheduled to begin in 2026, Radiant targets producing commercial units in 2028, after obtaining US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) licences. In October 2023, Radiant was selected as one
of three advanced nuclear energy developers to receive DOE funding to develop and test microreactor designs using the testbed. DOE, through NRIC, awarded $3.9m to Radiant, Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation (UNSC) and Westinghouse to design experiments to test microreactor designs at DOME. Testing in DOME will allow Radiant to gather
critical safety and performance data to support future commercial licensing. Radiant said it is working with INL on the next phase of the safety review, focusing on the Conceptual Safety Design Report (CSDR). The purpose of the CSDR is to summarise the hazard analysis efforts and safety-in-design decisions incorporated into the conceptual design, along with any identified project risks. Radiant has also signed a memorandum of
understanding (MOU) with Amsted Graphite Materials aimed at strengthening the domestic supply chain for nuclear-grade graphite. Radiant has placed a significant purchase order with Amsted for its PCEA nuclear-grade graphite to support development of the Kaleidos reactor. The success of Kaleidos, along with the viability of subsequent commercial projects, will depend in part on supply certainty and affordability of nuclear-grade, medium and fine grain graphite. The MOU underscores the commitment of Radiant and Amsted to reduce reliance on foreign sources, enhance US advanced manufacturing capabilities and strengthen the security of supply chains.. Amsted also signed a partnership agreement
to establish an integrated domestic supply chain for graphite with small modular reactor developer X-energy in 2022. X-energy’s reactor also uses graphite moderator.
Sweden New waste repository approved The Swedish Radiation Safety Authority (SSM – Strålsäkerhetsmyndigheten) has authorised power utility OKG, which operates the Oskarshamn nuclear power plant, to construct a new land repository for very low-level nuclear waste.
The new final repository will be built in
connection with two previous land repositories on the Simpevarps peninsula north of Oskarshamn. The authority has also approved OKG’s environmental impact assessment. The Land & Environmental Court had previously issued a permit for the land repository in accordance with the Environmental Code. The waste that can be deposited in the
repository is classified as very low-level and is largely from ongoing decommissioning work at OKG, and also at Barsebäck’s NPP. Significant parts of the waste are concrete. It will also take waste from the Oskarshamn 3 reactor, which is currently in operation, as well as waste from the Swedish Nuclear Fuel Management (SKB) intermediate storage facility for used nuclear fuel, Clab. “The repository is designed in a similar way
to a landfill for hazardous waste. We made the assessment that it meets the requirements to be able to store this type of very low-level waste in a radiation-safe way,” said SSM investigator Anders Wiebert. This will total 18,000 cubic metres of waste.
The repository will operate until 2048 after which it will be under radiation protection control by OKG for another 30 years. It differs from previous land repositories for waste from nuclear facilities in that the permit will not allow the deposit of cellulose waste such as paper, fabric and wood that can be treated by incineration.
Romania KHNP starts on tritium removal plant Officials from the state-run Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) took part in the ground- breaking ceremony for a tritium removal facility at Romania’s Cernavoda NPP. The event was attended by KHNP President Whang Joo-ho; Im Gap-su, South Korean Ambassador to Romania; Cosmin Ghita, President of Romanian nuclear utility Societatea Națională Nuclearelectrica (SNN); the heads of Romanian regulatory agencies; and over 50 key officials. KHNP won the KRW260bn ($188m) project in June 2023, based on its experience with the Wolsong Tritium Removal Facility and established a construction office in Cernavodă in March this year to oversee the project. Regulatory approvals were received in May and construction is scheduled to be completed by September 2027. The tritium removal facility is designed to capture radioactive substances generated during the operation of heavy water reactors. The project marks KHNP’s first engineering, procurement & construction project in Europe.
round up
REGULATION AN INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC Energy Agency (IAEA) Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) team of experts has completed a follow-up mission to Canada requested by the Government of Canada and hosted by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. The team found that Canada has addressed most of the four recommendations and 16 suggestions made during a 2019 IRRS mission.
NUCLEAR FUEL SCIENTISTS FROM ROSATOM’S Fuel Division and the Breakthrough Project have developed an innovative technology for the purification and separation of nuclear materials from irradiated nuclear fuel. The new crystallisation refining technology will be implemented at the module for reprocessing irradiated high-density uranium-plutonium nitride fuel as part of the pilot demonstration power complex in Seversk.
RADWASTE SOCIETA GESTIONE IMPIANTI Nucleari (Sogin) has laid the foundation slab for an interim storage facility at Italy’s Garigliano NPP in the municipality of Sessa Aurunca (Caserta), which closed more than 40 years ago. The DT2 temporary warehouse will accommodate about 1,800 cubic metres of low and medium activity radioactive waste from the plant.
THE VERKHOVNA RADA (parliament) of Ukraine has adopted the draft Law ratifying the Framework Agreement with the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development. Ratification will make it possible to create a mechanism for managing the activities of the International Chernobyl Cooperation Account and to give grants to Ukraine for support and funding of nuclear and radiation safety projects at Chornobyl.
ADVANCED REACTORS US TERRAPOWER EXECUTIVES, including Chairman Bill Gates took part in the groundbreaking ceremony of the company’s planned Natrium reactor facility in Kemmerer, Wyoming. Also attending the ceremony were TerraPower CEO Chris Levesque, and government representatives.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING ASSISTANT Professor Stephen Lam of UMass Lowell (UML) and researchers from MIT and Stony Brook University are studying molten salt chemistry and the safety and efficiency of reactors based on this technology. The team recently won a three-year, $1m US Department of Energy grant to fund their research.
www.neimagazine.com | July 2024 | 11
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