Next-Gen Nuclear Marks Big Week: By Aviation and By Regulatory Firsts
The next-generation nuclear energy era, which includes new types of fuel and reactors, achieved a couple of historic firsts this past week.
On Friday, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced its approval for a materials license authorizing commercial fabrication of X-energy’s tristructural isotropic fuel subsidiary TRISO-X. This license marks the first-ever U.S. approval of a category II fuel fabrication facility, according to the NRC.
Meanwhile, also for the first time ever three U.S. military C-17 transport planes airlifted mini reactor components of Valar Atomics’ 5-MW micro reactor (pictured above) from a base in California to Utah. Valar was one of the advanced reactor and small nuclear designers chosen by the U.S. Department of Energy for a pilot program pushing a next-gen nuclear generation equipment to achieve criticality by this July 4th.
The Sunday flight, called “Operation Windlord” by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), was the first ever for a nuclear reactor transported by C-17. It is part of the Trump Administration’s push to create more opportunities for carbon-free and baseload nuclear power to supply electricity for growing datacenter, AI and industrial automation demand.
“The successful delivery and installation of this reactor will unlock significant possibilities for the future of energy resilience and strategic independence for our nation's defense, showcasing an agile, innovative, and commercial-first approach to solving critical infrastructure challenges,” reads the DoD press release about the reactor airlift. “By harnessing the power of advanced nuclear technology, we are not only enhancing our national security but championing a future of American energy dominance.”
The Defense Department is working with the Energy Department on micro and small modular reactor projects. Valar Atomics has broken ground on its Ward 250 reactor site and plans to utilize TRISO fuel.
Work also is underway for X-energy on the TRISO-X fabrication site in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. TRISO-X originally submitted its license application in 2022.
“Commercial-scale production of this fuel is key to enabling the deployment of advanced reactor designs,” said NRC Chairman Ho K. Nieh in a statement announcing the license approval. “This license represents an important milestone that supports the Department of Energy’s program to accelerate deployment of nuclear technologies and deliver more power to the grid.”
TRISO fuel—also classified as high-assay low-enriched uranium, or HALEU—is encapsulated in coatings of multiple layers of carbon and ceramic materials. This forms a robust shell designed to withstand high temperatures.
X-energy also is working with industrial customer Dow on an NRC permit to build a small modular reactor plant to power Dow’s Seadrift manufacturing complex near the Texas Gulf Coast. Other companies working on SMR technologies include Terrestrial Energy, NuScale Power, TerraPower, Oklo, Rolls-Royce SMR, Holtec, Ontario Power Generation, GE Vernova-Hitachi Nuclear, NANO, Rosatom and Westinghouse.
The operating, conventional nuclear reactor fleet currently generates about 18% of U.S. utility-scale electricity, according to the federal Energy Information Administration. Those plants, such as the multi-GW Vogtle site in Georgia, are generating high capacity factor and low-carbon power, but are expensive to build and maintain.
About the Author
Rod Walton, EnergyTech Managing Editor
Managing Editor
For EnergyTech editorial inquiries, please contact Managing Editor Rod Walton at [email protected].
Rod Walton has spent 17 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist. He formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.
Walton earned his Bachelors degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma. His career stops include the Moore American, Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise, Wagoner Tribune and Tulsa World.
EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids. The C&I sectors together account for close to 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.
He was named Managing Editor for Microgrid Knowledge and EnergyTech starting July 1, 2023
Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.