Research & Development

Microreactors / US-Based Ultra Safe And Finland University To Explore Test Deployment

By David Dalton
19 December 2022

Plant could connect to district heating infrastructure in city of Lappeenranta
US-Based Ultra Safe And Finland University To Explore Test Deployment
The reactor could provide carbon-free district heating to the university, the city of Lappeenranta (pictured) and surrounding areas.
US-based Generation IV microreactor developer Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation and Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology (LUT) in Lappeenranta, Finland signed a memorandum of understanding to examine deployment of Ultra Safe’s nuclear micro-modular reactor (MMR) as a research and test reactor in the city of Lappeenranta at or near the university’s campus.

Ultra Safe said that if constructed, the reactor will be operated as a training, research and test facility and will connect to the district heating infrastructure of Lappeenrannan Energia, the municipally-owned energy company providing carbon-free district heating to the university, city, and surrounding area.

Lappeenranta is in southeastern Finland about 30 km from the border with Russia.

The MMR research and test reactor will test new technologies to decarbonise energy production, integrate with a microgrid, and help train the future workforce through hands-on experience with a next-generation high-temperature gas-cooled microreactor.

Ultra Safe also announced a memorandum of understanding with Portland Holdings Investco Limited, a privately held investment firm based in Burlington, Ontario, Canada, that will see Portland and related entities invest up to $350m (€329m) in efforts to bring the reactor technology to the Middle East, North Africa and the Caribbean.

Ultra Safe has been developing its MMR and proprietary fully ceramic micro-encapsulated fuel since 2011.

Michael Lee-Chin, president and chairman of Portland Holdings, said the company’s investment in Ultra Safe will also contribute to significant milestones in the advancement of the MMR initial deployment sites at Chalk River, Canada, and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in the US.

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