The Utah San Rafael Energy Lab (USREL), a unit within the Utah Office of Energy Development (OED), and NuCube Energy have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to collaborate on siting one of NuCube’s microreactors at USREL’s energy lab in Orangeville.
The MOU is also seen as a key step in bringing NuCube’s modular reactors to market. NuCube’s technology is capable of producing the highest-temperature heat from a fission reactor that can be easily integrated with chemical processes and energy conversion technologies. The reactor design can generate electricity or provide heat for industrial processes. NuCube’s reactor design utilises TRISO (tristructural-isotropic) fuel and heat pipe technology, among other innovations, that are designed to minimise the use of moving parts within the reactor, thereby enhancing safety and reliability.
NuCube says the microreactors will be housed in a stainless-steel compartment that increases safety and streamlines permitting. Testing of NuCube’s microreactors at USREL will be the next step in the technology’s development. The reactor will produce electricity from high temperature heat greater than 1,000 degrees Celsius. The technology can deliver cost competitive electricity and can also be operated independently from existing power grids.
NuCube’s website describes it as “the world’s first solid state fission reactor that revolutionises energy production” to provide facilities with a power supply of up to 15 MWe. “With a core life up to 30 years, the NuCube DeccaCell offers unparalleled cost-efficiency, competing with other energy sources.” With “dramatically fewer moving parts” the NuCube DeccaCell “is passively safe, requires less capital and maintenance, expedites the approval process, and vastly improves efficiency”. The microreactor is an affordable option for power generation “by leveraging tried-and-tested off-the-shelf materials and fuel”. It is delivered by road or rail and rapidly installed on site and operates for seven to 30 years before refuelling. “Once fuel is depleted NuCube DeccaCell is replaced and removed or refuelled.”
Utah has already begun attracting significant investment in its nascent nuclear industry, and the USREL will play a critical role in bridging the gap between research & development and deployment, including the NuCube project. NuCube and USREL have already begun discussions about community outreach and engagement.
“Utah has an enormous amount of momentum as it explores how best to leverage nuclear energy to meet the needs of its residents and businesses,” said Cristian Rabiti, NuCube Energy CEO and Cofounder. “We are especially excited to be working with USREL given its proven track record of demonstrating advanced power generation technologies including a supercritical carbon dioxide power cycle.”
USREL has the space and equipment necessary to host projects like NuCube Energy’s test reactor, said OED Director Emy Lesofski. “The lab will be a site for a variety of research projects that focus on keeping our energy clean, affordable, reliable and sustainable. The research at USREL will play a critical role in bringing promising technologies to market safely and quickly so the state can continue to increase its reliable and clean energy supply, while also working with local community members. We’re particularly excited about NuCube’s technology because of the opportunities around research it will afford.”
In May, Utah Governor Spencer Cox agreed with California-based start-up Valar Atomics to site a test small modular reactor at USREL. He said the test reactor is anticipated being operational within a year. “We want to find the best technology. We’re not betting on any one technology or any one company. That doesn’t make sense,” Cox told a briefing earlier in June. “We’re betting on the idea that there is going to be a nuclear renaissance.”
Cox explained that currently the initial plans won’t cost anything to Utah, since the state had acquired the San Rafael Energy Lab during the 2024 legislative session. “We’re just providing space for these companies to come in and run their new technology there to see if it actually works,” Cox said. “And so that’s not going to cost us anything. The hope is it will save us down the road.” However, lawmakers did agree to fund $10m for Cox’s Operation Gigawatt nuclear initiative, The governor said that money is for siting.
Utah has also sought to ease the regulations to make nuclear energy production a reality. First it sued the Biden administration in January over its strict permitting rules; then, by passing legislation to set the foundation for the state’s nuclear energy future. Utah purchased the San Rafael State Energy Lab (HB410) from Emery County for $2m plus $1m for salaries, building maintenance and supplies to keep the operation running until 2025. The legislation also created a fund specifically for the lab, to be administered by OED, which would allow the lab to pursue money from the Federal government.
