Nine projects have been selected by the European Industrial Alliance on SMRs, which focuses on small modular reactors (SMR), for its Projects Working Groups (PWGs). One of the selected projects is the Thorizon One project of Thorizon of the Netherlands, which is aimed at developing so-called molten-salt reactors.
The European Industrial Alliance on SMRs focuses on facilitating and accelerating the development of SMRs on European soil, with the aim of rolling them out in the early 30s. Among other things, SMRs should allow nuclear technology to be integrated with new industrial applications.
Working Groups
The European Union (EU) foresees an important role for SMRs in integrated energy systems, where the reactors can produce clean electricity and heat with a relatively small footprint. Among other things, SMRs can help make cleaner energy sectors that are struggling to reduce their emissions, such as the transport, chemical and steel industries.
European Industrial Alliance on SMRs works with specific working groups aimed at improving the conditions for developing, demonstrating and rolling out SMRs, as well as supporting the European supply chain in this area. Think about fuel and raw materials for SMRs.
Thorizon
Thorizon is a spin-off of the Dutch nuclear institute NRG. It focuses on the development of molten-salt reactors and a European supply chain around these reactors. A molten-salt reactor is a type of nuclear reactor in which the fuel is dissolved in a liquid salt rather than in solid form, as in traditional nuclear reactors. The liquid salt acts as both fuel medium and coolant. The technology offers several advantages over conventional nuclear reactors, including improved safety, higher efficiency and the ability to use different types of nuclear fuels.
A molten-salt reactor is not a new concept; the concept was already demonstrated in the United States (US) in the 1960s. However, commercialisation of the reactors has not been successful so far. Thorizon aims to change this with a modular reactor core with interchangeable cartridges of molten-salt fuel. In this way, it aims to overcome traditional challenges such as corrosion and transport.
Thorizon One
Thorizon One is a molten-salt reactor being developed by Thorizon. The reactor should be able to produce 250 MW of industrial heat at 550 °C. This heat can be used directly for industrial processes in, among others, the chemical industry or for the production of hydrogen. It is also possible to convert the heat into roughly 100 MW of electricity, which is enough to power 250,000 homes.
The molten-salt reactor can also be used as energy storage. This allows it to store 50 to 300 MW of energy at times of low energy demand, which can then be deployed at peak demand.
Further information about the project is available here.
