Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

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

  • Chartwells Launches Campus Dining Evaluation Framework

    Contract food-service management provider Chartwells Higher Education recently announced the launch of BLUEPRINT, according to a news release. The evaluation framework was designed to provide a data-driven and customizable roadmap towards optimizing campus dining services and, by extension, the student experience.

  • Miami University Approves New $242M Multipurpose Arena

    Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, recently announced that its Board of Trustees has approved construction of a new multipurpose arena at Cook Field, according to university news. The $242-million project will serve as a new centralized hub for student life and create space for economic development on campus.

  • UTampa Breaks Ground on STEM Academic Facility

    The University of Tampa in Tampa, Fla., recently broke ground on one of its largest academic facilities ever, according to a news release. The Dickey Science Innovation Center will measure 153,000 square feet and has a scheduled completion date of fall 2028.

  • Tennessee Middle School Completes Health, Life Safety Renovations

    The Giles County Board of Education in Pulaski, Tenn., recently announced that a series of renovation projects has been completed at Bridgeforth Middle School, according to a news release. The district partnered with Wold Architects & Engineers and Brindley Construction to modernize building systems at one of the district’s oldest schools.