The National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC) at the US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Idaho National Laboratory (INL) recently announced a new testing capability that will accelerate advanced nuclear fuel research. The Molten Salt Thermophysical Examination Capability (MSTEC) is a state-of-the-art, shielded argon glovebox that allows researchers to study fuel salts at the extreme temperatures required for use in advanced molten salt reactor designs.
The glovebox contains eight robotic arms. It is designed to research the characteristics of molten salts deployed in certain advanced reactors – measuring up to 1000 degrees Celsius, viscosity, melting temperature and heat transfer, according to MSTEC Research Leader Mikael Karlsson.
“The primary operation, or the primary function, of a glovebox is just to keep our researchers safe,” explained MSTEC System Engineer Nathan Petersen. “The stuff that they work on is hazardous, and so we want to make sure that they can perform their research without any kind of ill effects happening to them.”
MSTEC offers researchers a flexible laboratory space for small-scale experiments and provides a safe environment for testing high-temperature processes, molten salts and advanced fuel compositions. Its capabilities include fuel characterisation, electrochemical studies, corrosion testing and salt synthesis. MSTEC cost $15m and took approximately five years to design and construct.
Understanding the properties of fuel salts at different temperatures, and how they interact with potential reactor materials, is important for advanced molten salt reactor designs that use high-temperature chloride or fluoride salts as the fuel, coolant or both.
MSTEC is strategically co-located alongside other INL facilities helping to advance molten salt reactor technologies. These include the Advanced Test Reactor and the Neutron Radiography Reactor, which provide unparalleled capabilities for irradiating salts, and the Analytical Research Laboratories, which enable precise isotopic and elemental analysis. This combination of specialised resources positions MSTEC as a critical hub for cutting-edge research and innovation in nuclear energy.
“MSTEC fills a critical gap in our testing capabilities,” said NRIC Director Brad Tomer. “For the first time, reactor developers will have access to a facility that can accurately measure thermophysical properties of irradiated fuel salts at the extreme temperatures and conditions advanced reactor designs require. This data is essential for future licensing and commercial deployment.”
MSTEC is anticipated to attract new projects and partnerships to broaden research and development for nuclear technologies. It will also offer a training ground for scientists, engineers and operations staff, ensuring that expertise keeps pace with technology. It’s a full ecosystem, advancing research while cultivating the talent pipeline needed to sustain it.
“This is a capability that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the world,” said NRIC Program Manager Josh Gillespie. “When we look at all the different kinds of nuclear reactors that are out there in the world, molten salt reactors are the ones that we have known the least about.”
He added: “It’s a new capability we have here … to examine molten salts and to work with our commercial partners to help them drive forward the commercial nuclear industry. Before we can go off and commercialise these [molten salt] reactors and obtain a lot of the great benefits that they provide, we need to go get a lot of data so we can do this safely, so we can go off and enable the technology.”
