US companies aiming for scale-up and lower fuel costs for advanced reactor industry
US companies Kairos Power and BWX Technologies (BWXT) have reached an agreement to explore technical and process opportunities for the optimisation of commercial production of Triso nuclear fuel to supply Kairos Power’s advanced reactor fleet and other potential customers.
The arrangement will bring together Kairos Power’s established capabilities in annular graphite pebble production with BWXT’s experience in Triso fuel manufacturing.
The aim is to develop mass-produced Triso coated particle fuel to support Kairos Power’s commercial scale-up and lower fuel costs for the advanced reactor industry, a statement said.
Kairos is developing Generation IV fluoride salt-cooled high-temperature reactor (KP-FHR) technology. Fluoride salt-cooled reactors use a liquid fluoride salt coolant to remove heat from the reactor core. They are said to have advantages over more traditional water-cooled plants, including improved safety and higher efficiency.
The two companies also said they will consider possible paths to deliver fuel for the Hermes 2 demonstration plant and subsequent Kairos Power reactor deployments.
Kairos’s Hermes 2 nuclear plant design is the only advanced electricity producing reactor approved for construction by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The company is building a non-nuclear mockup of the plant known as the Engineering Test Unit (ETU 3.0) at its Oak Ridge, Tennessee, campus.
The US Department of Energy is investing about $300m (€256m) in Kairos’s Hermes project through its advanced reactor demonstration programme, as part of plans to accelerate the development of new nuclear technologies.
“This collaboration between Kairos Power and BWXT is an opportunity to develop a secure pathway to produce the fuel we need for Hermes 2 and beyond,” said Ed Blandford, Kairos Power’s chief technology officer and co-founder.
Next Step In Kairos Supply Chain
“Commercial Triso fuel production is the next step in the development of Kairos Power’s fuel supply chain.
“With BWXT as a trusted strategic partner, we have a clear path to produce the high-quality fuel products that will unlock advanced nuclear energy’s potential.”
In August, federal energy provider Tennessee Valley Authority signed a nuclear power agreement with Kairos Power and Google, making it the first utility in the US to secure a binding deal with a next-generation small modular reactor (SMR) company.
The three companies said the collaboration will address growing US energy demand and reinforce the country’s leadership in advanced nuclear energy.
Triso (TRi-structural ISOtropic) nuclear fuel is a highly robust, advanced fuel form for high-temperature gas-cooled reactors. It consists of a uranium-based fuel kernel surrounded by three distinct layers of ceramic and carbon materials, which form an individual containment system for each particle.
This tri-structural design is said to provide exceptional resistance to corrosion, high temperatures, and irradiation, making it impossible to melt under extreme conditions and containing radioactive fission products effectively.
Kairos Power’s Triso development laboratory in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Courtesy Kairos Power.
