TerraPower submits the Natrium reactor for evaluation to UK regulators.

American company TerraPower officially submitted its Natrium reactor and energy storage system to the Generic Design Assessment (GDA) process in the United Kingdom, writes WNN

This move represents the company's first regulatory step toward introducing its advanced nuclear technology to the international market. The GDA process enables Britain's regulatory bodies – the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), the Environment Agency (EA) – to assess the safety, security, and environmental implications of the new reactor design, independently of any site-specific construction requirements.

Chris Levesque, President and Chief Executive Officer of TerraPower, stated that submitting the Natrium technology for GDA assessment is "a fundamentally important step toward bringing a reactor and energy storage system to the United Kingdom." "TerraPower is committed to delivering Natrium units worldwide, and our regulatory team sets the standards for licensing and implementing advanced nuclear technologies," Levesque added.

Natrium is a sodium-cooled fast reactor that includes an integrated energy storage system. The first-of-a-kind plant of this type is being built in the United States, in Kemmerer, Wyoming. TerraPower submitted an application to the U.S. regulator in March 2024, and recently the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission recommended issuing a construction permit.

The GDA process in the United Kingdom is expected to build on the company's experience gained in the U.S. and enable TerraPower to establish precise timelines for implementing a Natrium plant in the country.

This initiative aligns with the recently announced partnership between the United Kingdom and U.S. nuclear regulators, known as the Atlantic Partnership for Advanced Nuclear Energy. The goal of that partnership is to streamline regulations and significantly accelerate decision timelines for specific technologies, thereby enabling faster deployment of advanced nuclear reactors on both markets.

TerraPower formally notified regulators of plans for the GDA process as early as May, and in September announced plans to assess potential locations in the UK for the Natrium reactor, in partnership with KBR Inc.

As for the design, the TerraPower project is an extremely advanced fast reactor cooled by liquid sodium. It operates in a fast spectrum – neutrons are not moderated – so it can use a broader range of fuels. In addition, due to the physical characteristics of sodium used for cooling, it should be capable of thermal energy storage, which would allow the reactor to ramp power up and down without a loss of efficiency, which represents one of the problems faced by standard reactor designs that have optimal efficiency within a relatively narrow operating power range.

But even so, we remind you: Natrium has neither an operational reactor nor an operational technology demonstrator.