The Utah Office of Energy Development (OED), TerraPower and Flagship Companies have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to explore the potential siting of a Natrium reactor and energy storage plant in Utah. The agreement establishes a non-binding framework for cooperation among the three parties. It supports Utah Governor Spencer J Cox’s Operation Gigawatt, a strategic effort to build an energy ecosystem that serves Utah and the Western US.
OED, TerraPower and Flagship will jointly identify and assess sites for a potential advanced nuclear plant, with the goal of establishing preliminary site recommendations by the end of 2025. Site selection will be based on an evaluation of a variety of factors including community support, the physical characteristics of the site, the ability of the site to obtain a licence from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and access to existing infrastructure.
“Today marks an important step forward for energy in Utah,” said Governor Cox. “Operation Gigawatt is about adding capacity from diverse sources – nuclear, natural gas, geothermal and more – so families and businesses have power that is affordable, reliable and clean. This agreement with TerraPower will help keep rates low, strengthen our grid and ensure Utah’s future can be as strong as our past.”
“Utah has a proud history of energy innovation, and this agreement positions us to explore next-generation nuclear technology that can help meet our growing power needs while strengthening our energy independence,” said Emy Lesofski, Executive Director of OED. “We look forward to working with our local communities, utilities, large energy users and other partners as we identify and evaluate potential sites.”
Flagship Companies, a Utah-based land development firm, will provide access to relevant land data and assist in identifying and evaluating potential candidate sites for reactor development. Craig Cannon, Partner at Flagship Companies, noted, “We’re proud to be part of a forward-looking initiative that aligns land development with next-generation energy solutions. This MOU reflects a model for private-public collaboration in building the infrastructure of the future.”
TerraPower President & CEO Chris Levesque said “TerraPower is excited to collaborate with Utah leaders and communities to explore how Natrium plants can help Utah achieve its economic and energy goals,” said, and of. “Our Natrium reactor and energy storage system is well-suited for the Mountain West, and will play a vital role in ensuring a reliable grid for future generations.”
TerraPower broke ground on the Natrium project in 2024 at its site in Kemmerer in Wyoming and immediately began construction efforts. The Natrium design features a 345 MWe sodium-cooled fast reactor with a patented molten salt-based energy storage system. The storage technology can boost the system’s output to 500 MWe of power when needed as it is designed to keep base output steady, ensuring constant reliability, and can quickly ramp up when demand peaks. Terrapower says the decoupled design separates major structures into two independent islands – nuclear and energy, which significantly reduces the quantity of specialised materials, cutting plant costs and accelerating construction timelines.
The first Natrium plant is being developed through the US Department of Energy’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP), a public-private partnership. The ARDP was awarded under President Trump’s first administration; and continued federal support for deploying new plants was outlined in President Trump’s executive orders. According to Terrapower, the project is expected to be completed in 2030.
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.
