The USA’s Nuclear Regulatory Commission on 16 September issued a construction permit to Abilene Christian University to build Natura MSR-1 nuclear reactor, marking the first molten salt cooled reactor licensed by the NRC in American history and the first US university research reactor approved in more than 30 years.
ACU’s molten salt research reactor (MSRR) will be the first deployment of the Natura MSR-1, a 1 MW thermal system. This construction permit is only the second ever for an advanced nuclear reactor.
Douglass Robison, Natura Resources founder and president – “The Natura MSR-1 deployment at ACU will provide operational data that will allow us to safely and efficiently design and deploy our commercial systems.”
Natura Resources brought together ACU’s NEXT Lab with Texas A&M University, the University of Texas at Austin and Georgia Institute of Technology to form the Natura Resources Research Alliance to license and deploy the MSRR, which will be located at ACU’s Dillard Science and Engineering Research Centre, the nation’s first advanced reactor demonstration facility outside of a national lab.
“With the NRC’s issuance of the construction permit, we are one step closer to making that a reality. The performance-driven approach of Natura Resources to advanced reactor deployment has quickly moved them from a relative unknown to a leader in the upstart advanced reactor industry,” said Dr Phil Schubert, ACU president.
The construction permit review includes an environmental review and a safety evaluation to assess the proposed reactor’s effect on public health and safety. ACU’s environmental review was completed in March with a finding of “no significant impact.” The recently completed safety review found that the preliminary design of the Natura MSR-1 meets federal regulations and is safe to construct.
“This construction permit is the first step in the NRC’s two step licensing process. [It] allows ACU and Natura to build and operate the MSRR without uranium. The next step is to apply for and receive the operating license, which will authorise [fuelling] the reactor, and demonstrate the elegance of molten salt technology.”
With the construction permit completed, Abilene Christian will continue working with Natura to submit an application for an operating licence, while Natura will complete the detailed design of the MSR-1. ACU; Natura hopes to submit the operating licence application in the first half of 2025.
