Reactive Research: Illinois University, NANO Nuclear Planning to Build On-Campus Test Reactor
Enthusiasm to learn more about how nuclear energy may intersect strategies for power resiliency and emissions reduction is finding its way back to the fount of research-oriented thinking—the American university campus.
In the latest sign of this movement's advancement the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign will house a micro modular test reactor (MMR) built on its campus. Project construction will be led by small modular reactor (SMR) design firm NANO Nuclear Energy, which will construct and test its first KRONOS MMR reactor on the campus.
The work at UIUC follows similar agreements at Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Abilene Christian in the U.S., as well as Sheffield University in the United Kingdom, among others.
The latest deal establishes the University of Illinois as a partner in the licensing, siting, public engagement and research operations of the KRONOS MMR (micro modular reactor). The campus also will be the permanent site for research and demonstration of the KRONOS small reactor.
“This system can be the most advanced nuclear research platform on any U.S. campus, with the potential to enable a new paradigm of nuclear power through education, research, and at-scale demonstration,” Caleb Brooks, professor with UIUC's Grainger College of Engineering’s Nuclear, Plasma & Radiological Engineering department, said in a statement.
The NANO and UIUC nuclear collaboration will certainly be advanced, but it is hardly alone in the U.S. Abilene Christian in Texas is partnering with Natura Resources on testing a 1-MW molten salt reactor demonstration on campus, while Texas A&M is hosting numerous SMR startups to do work on its campuses, including Natura, Kairos Power, Terrestrial Energy and Aalo Atomics.
Nuclear reactor power plants generate baseload electricity capacity but do not emit greenhouse gases. Utility-scale nuclear power generates close to 18% of U.S. electricity, but many advocates see SMR has a safer, less expensive way to build small nuclear to power future data center and industrial load growth. The movement, however, does have its detractors also.
The KRONOS technology developed by NANO is a high-temperature, gas-cooled reactor design which is in the construction permit pre-application engagement phase with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). NANO Nuclear will begin work on geological characterization, including subsurface investigations, to prepare for its construction permit application (CPA) to the NRC. The preparatory work is necessary to understand the environmental parameters of the site, including inputs to safety analysis, to ensure the reliability and safety of the facility, and support NANO Nuclear’s preliminary safety analysis and environmental reports.
“Moreover, this agreement will serve as a foundation for our long-term reactor strategy,” said Jay Yu, founder and Chairman of NANO Nuclear Energy. “Every milestone from this point forward brings us closer to delivering the next generation of nuclear energy to communities, campuses, and industries across the world.”
The University of Illinois will support NANO in the regulatory licensing process, plant design, stakeholder engagement and workforce development. The partnership builds on the university’s prior experience and engagement with nuclear regulators, while introducing a reactor system to lead the next generation of clean energy deployment.
Recently the U.S. government’s Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy announced millions of dollars in grants to help upgrade nuclear research and development infrastructure at universities and colleges nationwide. Recent DOE university nuclear research grant winners include Purdue, Florida, New Mexico and the University of Texas at Austin.
No SMR projects have been built or operated in the U.S. yet, but numerous startups are working on reactor design they hope to have implemented by the mid-2030s.
The University of Illinois system’s experience in nuclear energy research dates to the middle of the 20th century. The UI’s Advanced Teaching Research Isotope General Atomic Mark II reactor went critical in 1960, training nuclear engineering students for nearly 40 years before shutting down in 1998.
Research into nuclear fusion possibilities began at the UIUC campus in 2014.
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