Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

NRC to Issue Permit for Molten Salt Reactor at Abilene Christian University

  • By Matt Jones
  • 06/14/24

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) recently announced its intention to complete a safety assessment and construction permit issuance by Sept. 30 for a Molten Salt Research Reactor (MSRR) funded by Natura Resources on the campus of Abilene Christian University, according to a news release. The MSSR is the first liquid-fueled molten salt reactor design that the NRC has ever reviewed, and an environmental assessment was completed in March.

The Nuclear Energy eXperimental Testing Lab (NEXT) Lab at ASU partnered with the University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University, and the Georgia Institute of Technology—alongside the Natura Resources Research Alliance—toward the licensing and deployment of the reactor.

“The environmental assessment and upcoming completion of the safety evaluation for a construction permit are significant steps forward in the first deployment of the Natura MSR-1 system,” said Natura Resources founder and president Doug Robison. “This deployment at ACU will not only demonstrate successful licensure of a liquid-fueled molten salt reactor but will provide critical operational data that will help us meet the world's growing energy needs.”

The construction permit, expected in September, will allow the team to move forward with construction and deployment. The reactor serves as the first deployment of the Natura MSR-1, a one-megawatt thermal molten salt reactor system.

“This groundbreaking research has applications not only for clean energy but for clean water and the production of needed medical isotopes. We're thrilled to see how this technology will bless people around the world,” said ACU president Dr. Phil Schubert.

About the Author

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

Featured

  • Rethinking K-12 Schools as a Continuous Learning Experience

    Most students move through three or more separate facilities during their K-12 journey, yet the built environments they encounter at each stage have traditionally been designed in isolation, with little continuity in spatial language, learning philosophy, or physical resources. Each new school is a reset with different layouts, learning models, expectations, and ways of moving through a building. The next generation of school design is making the case that the first day of kindergarten and the last day of high school can and should feel connected through common support systems and infrastructure in the physical environment.

  • Planning with Clarity: Using AI to Make Better Campus Decisions, Not Just Better Designs

    Higher education leaders are being asked to make increasingly high-stakes decisions about campus facilities amid greater uncertainty than ever before. Social and economic pressures, shifting enrollment, and evolving learning models compete with growing deferred maintenance needs to strain even the most robust infrastructure budgets.

  • Virginia Tech Tops Out New College of Engineering Building

    Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., recently celebrated the topping out of Mitchell Hall, which will soon stand as the largest College of Engineering building on campus, according to a news release. The university partnered with Skanska on the 285,500-square-foot facility, which has an expected completion date of winter 2028.

  • Children walking along bright school corridor with motion blur

    How Next-Gen Design Is Reshaping the Student Experience

    The environments where students learn play a crucial role in shaping their growth in and out of the classroom. By centering design on well-being, flexibility, and purpose, districts can ensure their facilities remain vibrant community assets for many years to come.