US TerraPower has awarded three supplier contracts to support its Natrium project, under construction in Kemmerer, Wyoming. This is the fifth round of procurement awards for the project. The contracts include:
- AVANTech based in South Carolina, which will design advanced sodium processing system modules and supporting skids for the Natrium plant, as well as fabricate and deliver the Test and Fill Facility (TFF) Cold Trap Skid.
- Structural Integrity Associates: Structural Integrity Associates, with locations across the US, which will design and fabricate the Sodium Cover Gas Gamma Spectroscopy Analysis Cabinet (SCGY), a critical radiation monitoring system for the Natrium technology. The cabinet will provide essential gamma spectrometry of cover gas exhaust to monitor radioisotopes and deliver critical operational insights for safe reactor operations.
- PAR Systems based in Minnesota, which will design and fabricate the Pool Handling Machine (PHM), a specialised crane system for used fuel pool operations. The machine will handle and transport used fuel assemblies, and related components, within the pool, providing precise positioning and movement capabilities essential for fuel storage, inspection and maintenance activities.
TerraPower has already secured 100% of the long-lead items for the project, and has awarded the entire Natrium reactor enclosure system. These additional awards demonstrate the Natrium project’s critical role in building the domestic capabilities needed to scale next-generation nuclear technology to meet growing energy demand.
“A resilient and diverse domestic supply chain is crucial to completing our Natrium plant and bringing the first, commercial-scale advanced reactor online in the United States,” said Chris Levesque, TerraPower President and CEO. “Each supplier award for the Natrium project reflects our readiness and resolve to deliver reliable, advanced nuclear energy.”
The project is being developed through the Department of Energy’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP), a public-private partnership. The project is expected to be completed in 2030. eThe Natrium technology features a 345 MWe sodium-cooled fast reactor with a molten salt-based energy storage system. The storage technology can boost the system’s output to 500 MWe for more than five and a half hours when needed. TerraPower broke ground on the first Natrium project in Kemmerer in 2024.
However, while the TerraPower website provides some details of work done with molten salt, it contains very little information about the reactor technology. It is also notable that none of the contracts signed with suppliers relate to the reactor itself. Currently, the only commercially operating sodium-cooled fast reactors are in Russia. Development of these reactors took decades with full government support. In the US and Europe research on fast reactors took place in the 1960s and 1970s but all the projects have been closed down.
