Integral molten salt reactor targeted at data centre operators and heavy industry
Canada-based Generation IV nuclear power plant developer Terrestrial Energy and Schneider Electric, a French multinational supplier of digital control systems for energy management, have signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop commercial opportunities and advance the deployment of integral molten salt reactor (IMSR) plants.
The two companies said the collaboration offers solutions to the major energy challenges faced by data centre operators and many heavy industries operating industrial processes such as hydrogen, ammonia, aluminium and steel production.
These high-energy users need low-cost, reliable and emissions-free baseload supply that offers an alternative to intermittent renewable power with storage or carbon emitting fossil fuel power plants.
Terrestrial Energy said its IMSR plant could be used to provide dedicated power for large data centres and cogeneration for heavy industrial facilities.
The companies plan to use digital twin technology – essentially a digital representation of a physical object – across the full IMSR project lifecycle and during operations. This will result in a reduction of project time to market, cost reductions and more efficient operations.
Simon Irish, Terrestrial Energy’s chief executive officer, said the IMSR’s use of next-generation molten salt technology delivers the “transformative improvements” in the commercial performance of nuclear energy needed to meet demand for zero-carbon energy.
In April 2023, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission concluded that there were no fundamental barriers to licensing the IMSR plant for commercial use. This was the first regulatory review of a commercial nuclear plant using molten salt reactor technology and the first advanced, high-temperature fission technology to complete a review of this type.
In December 2023, Terrestrial Energy signed an MOU with Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation to evaluate advancements in nuclear energy technologies.
It has also signed a contract with Springfields Fuels, a subsidiary of Westinghouse, for the design and construction of an IMSR fuel pilot plant in the UK.
