en.Wedoany.com Reported - Terrestrial Energy has secured exclusive rights to 77 acres of land within the Texas A&M-RELLIS campus to advance engineering preparations for a small modular nuclear power plant. Under the signed land lease and research and development agreement, the company will conduct physical testing and environmental site characterization, with data collection to be completed before submitting a construction permit application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
In April 2026, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission completed a safety evaluation of the company's methodology for identifying and analyzing potential reactor accidents, building on a regulatory milestone in late 2025 when the agency approved the reactor core engineering design standards. In May 2026, the company reached an agreement with Riot Platforms to study how the reactor design could support large-scale computing infrastructure, targeting a total electrical capacity of up to 4 gigawatts.
The planned facility employs an Integral Molten Salt Reactor, which differs significantly from conventional light-water nuclear power plants. Traditional reactors use solid uranium fuel rods cooled by high-pressure water, whereas this Generation IV design directly mixes low-enriched uranium fuel into a liquid salt mixture, which serves as both the fuel matrix and heat transfer fluid. In the event of power loss, the liquid salt can be cooled through natural air circulation without requiring active electric backup pumps to prevent overheating. The reactor operates at high temperatures but under atmospheric pressure, and this low-pressure environment reduces the physical risk of containment rupture compared to high-pressure water systems. Designed as a small modular unit, its main components can be manufactured in factories and transported by truck or rail for on-site assembly. The facility is intended to simultaneously generate electricity and produce high-temperature industrial heat, with thermal output applicable to chemical synthesis or local grid supply.
The 77-acre site at the RELLIS Energy Test Facility will host multiple validation projects. Terrestrial Energy has already established engineering and project management offices on campus. Under a master research agreement finalized in the first quarter of 2026, university researchers and company engineers will collaborate on testing procedures. The site will support the main reactor project as well as two programs—TETRA and TEFLA—managed in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy. Engineers will focus on validating system material tolerance under long-term high-temperature stress and radiation. The project also includes local workforce development to train technicians in the specific maintenance procedures required for liquid fuel systems. The regional grid operated by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas faces growing demand from advanced manufacturing facilities, industrial operations, and data centers that require continuous baseload power supply unaffected by weather conditions.
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