Japanese nuclear agency, firms to develop fast reactors in the US

US’ TerraPower has agreed to share data on advanced sodium fast reactor technology.

The Japanese Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), along with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Mitsubishi FBR Systems has signed an agreement with TerraPower on the development of sodium-cooled fast reactors.

TerraPower, LLC, founded by Bill Gates, has been developing the Natrium, a small sodium-cooled fast reactor, which it aimed to operate in the latter part of 2020. The company also noted the project is a joint effort with the US Department of Energy, which has contributed some $2b on licensing and construction costs.

“We appreciate the expertise that JAEA will bring to our project, and we are confident that our program will help them as they consider advanced reactors in Japan,” Chris Levesque, president and CEO of TerraPower, said.

According to the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum, Inc. (JAIF), sodium-cooled fast reactor is a technology with a high level of maturity, and its development is accelerating globally. Given the high thermal conductivity of sodium, heat removal by natural-type circulation would be possible even in the event of loss of all power sources at Natrium, the JAIF explained.

Natrium’s output can be flexibly adjusted in response to output fluctuations from renewable energies, which is expected to contribute to improving overall economic efficiency.