US Generation IV small modular reactor (SMR) developer Terrestrial Energy has executed an agreement with the US Department of Energy (DOE) for Project Tetra, an initiative to build and operate a pilot reactor which will support Integral Molten Salt Reactor (IMSR) plant development.

The Charlotte, North Carolina-based company said the agreement, known as an Other Transaction Authority (OTA), marks an important milestone in its engagement with the government’s Advanced Reactor Pilot Program, under which the company is targeting deployment of a pilot Tetra IMSR plant.

Terrestrial Energy said the agreement establishes a direct, streamlined collaboration with the DOE to review and authorise the design and operation of the Tetra reactor, a molten salt-fuelled, graphite-moderated plant that uses standard low-enriched uranium nuclear fuel.