Advanced reactor firms clear NRC reviews, start prototype builds

On May 18 the Nuclear Regulatory Commission completed an environmental assessment and issued a finding of no significant impact for the construction permit application for the Long Mott Generating Station, a joint project by X-energy and Dow to site four Xe-100 high-temperature gas-cooled reactors at Dow’s Seadrift, Texas manufacturing campus. The plant is planned to supply electricity and high-temperature industrial steam to Dow’s operations. The NRC said the review focused on site-specific issues after extensive pre-application engagement and a detailed submission from the applicants, and the assessment closed in under a year.

Oklo received NRC approval for its principal design criteria topical report for the Aurora project in Idaho. The approved document sets the core safety, reliability and performance requirements that Oklo can cite in future licensing filings. Terrestrial Energy obtained NRC approval for a postulated initiating events topical report for its integral molten salt reactor. That approval complements an earlier acceptance of the reactor’s principal design criteria and expands the technical material Terrestrial may reference in later reviews.

Curtiss-Wright has moved from engineering into prototype manufacturing for two systems intended for the Xe-100 reactor. The company is producing a prototype helium circulator, which moves reactor heat into the power conversion system, and prototype reactivity control and shutdown systems, which provide separate means to regulate power and shut the reactor down. Manufacturers and developers plan to test those prototypes before any full-scale production or plant construction.

The topical report approvals allow applicants to reference prior NRC findings in subsequent licensing submissions, reducing the need to repeat fundamental evaluations. Curtiss-Wright, Oklo and Terrestrial Energy are constituents of an index that underlies an exchange-traded product tied to companies positioned in advanced nuclear supply chains.

An NRC environmental assessment evaluates whether a proposed project would have a significant environmental effect. A finding of no significant impact means the agency determined a full environmental impact statement is not required for that application.