European fuel cycle for molten-salt-cooled reactors

A Dutch-French company that is developing Thorizon molten-salt reactors and the European uranium enrichment giant Urenco have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to jointly develop a fuel supply chain for a new generation of MSR (Molten Salt Reactor) technology. This collaboration will include testing delivery methods for highly enriched uranium (HALEU) in the form of molten salts, but also potentially using depleted uranium as a fuel resource for future reactors

Thorizon, born as a spin-off of the Dutch national nuclear institute NRG (now NRG-Pallas), is developing its flagship project Thorizon One – a 100-megawatt molten-salt reactor, with commissioning planned by 2034 at the Borsele site in the Netherlands. On the other hand, Urenco is rapidly expanding its capacities within a new facility in Capenhurst in the United Kingdom, where the start of commercial HALEU fuel production is expected in 2031. In addition to molten-salt reactors offering a high level of passive safety and high operating temperatures suitable for industrial heat, the technology enables depleted uranium – a byproduct of the enrichment process – to be used as fuel through a special chemical treatment, thereby significantly increasing the efficiency of utilizing the entire nuclear fuel cycle in Europe. It is not exactly a complete closure of the fuel cycle, but a completely closed cycle would have to include the use of depleted uranium – so this is an important step toward closing the uranium cycle.

The Thorizon-Urenco initiative potentially solves one of the most important bottlenecks for commercializing fourth-generation advanced reactors – fuel availability – this time in Europe. The development of innovative reactors would be significantly hampered if there is no parallel, secured industrial supply chain for the special forms of fuel they use, such as HALEU fuel. The fact that a leading Western uranium enrichment company is entering into partnerships with European startups indicates that the development of MSR technology is gradually moving from the stage of scientific papers to serious industrial preparation. Also, the potential use of depleted uranium (which is treated as waste in current processes) shows how flexible advanced fuel cycles can change the economics of nuclear energy in the coming decades.

S.A.