NRC Issues Construction Permit for Molten Salt Reactor at Texas University

  • By Matt Jones
  • 09/19/24

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) recently issued a construction permit to Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas, to build the Natural Resources molten salt reactor, according to a news release. The Natura MSR-1 will become the first NRC-licensed liquid fueled salt reactor in U.S. history and the first U.S. university research reactor that has been approved in more than 30 years.

The molten salt research reactor (MSRR) at ACU will mark the first deployment of the Natura MSR-1, a one-megawatt thermal molten salt reactor system, the news release reports. The permit is only the second one ever granted to construct an advanced nuclear reactor. The Natura Resources Research Alliance, the driving force behind the project, consists of Natura Resources, ACU’s NEXT Lab with Texas A&M University, The University of Texas at Austin, and the Georgia Institute of Technology.

“If we're going to meet the growing energy needs, not only in the State of Texas but in our country and the world at large, we must begin deploying advanced nuclear reactors,” said Natura Resources founder and president Douglass Robison. “The Natura MSR-1 deployment at ACU will not only demonstrate successful licensure of a liquid-fueled molten salt reactor but will provide operational data that will allow us to safely and efficiently design and deploy our commercial systems.”

The construction permit review process entails an environmental review and a safety evaluation. The environmental review was conducted in March, and the more recently completed safety review found the MSR-1’s design within federal regulations and safe to construct. The next step is to submit an application for an operating license, which ACU and Natura hope to do in the first half of 2025, the news release reports.

“We appreciate the thorough reviews by the NRC staff,” said Ben Beasley, NEXT Lab director of licensing. “This construction permit is the first step in the NRC's two step licensing process. The construction permit 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 authorize ACU and Natura to fuel the reactor and demonstrate the elegance of molten salt technology.”

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Carnegie Grants R2 Status to East Texas A&M

    East Texas A&M University in Commerce, Texas, recently announced that it has been designated a Research 2 (R2) institution by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, according to a news release. The R2 designation took effect on February 13.

  • VLK Architects Receives Caudill Award for Texas Learning Center

    VLK Architects recently received the Caudill Award for its work on the Dr. Jim F. Chadwell Administration Building and Discovery Lab Learning Center for Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD in Fort Worth, Texas, according to a news release. The award is the highest honor from the Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA) / Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) Exhibit of School Architecture yearly competition.

  • diverse, simplified human figures in various colors seated around a curved table, with floating icons like light bulbs and speech bubbles above them

    Spaces4Learning Relaunches Advisory Board, Announces 12 Members

    Spaces4Learning is pleased to announce the relaunch of its advisory board and the introduction of its 12 distinguished members.

  • University of Kentucky Receives $2.5M Donation Toward Renovation Project

    The University of Kentucky in Lexington, Ky., recently announced that it has accepted a $2.5-million donation that will transform Pence Hall into the home of the university’s College of Communication and Information, according to a news release.