US Delivers Cold War-Era Reactor Molten Salt Coolant to Texas Nuclear Energy Innovation Project

en.Wedoany.com Reported - The U.S. nuclear energy sector has recently seen a landmark cross-generational collaboration. The Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), under the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), has formally delivered over 2 metric tons of FLiBe molten salt to Natura Resources, a nuclear energy startup headquartered in Abilene, Texas. This batch of molten salt once served as the coolant for the historic Molten Salt Reactor Experiment (MSRE) during the Cold War. After being sealed away for decades, it has been reactivated to support the research and deployment of fourth-generation nuclear reactor technology.

The delivered FLiBe molten salt is a mixture of lithium fluoride and beryllium fluoride, distinguished by its lithium-7 (Li-7) isotope abundance of up to 99.99%. Experts at Oak Ridge National Laboratory point out that because this highly enriched lithium-7 molten salt is extremely scarce and exceptionally difficult to purify in modern times, this historically preserved material has become the only near-term critical supply source available in the United States. It not only provides core material assurance for next-generation reactors but also significantly shortens the research and development cycle for new nuclear energy technologies.

Natura Resources plans to transport this precious molten salt to the NEXT Lab at Abilene Christian University (ACU), where it will serve as a key component of its MSR-1 liquid-fuel molten salt research reactor currently under construction. The reactor is designed for 1 megawatt (thermal power) and received a construction permit from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in 2024. Technicians at Oak Ridge Laboratory confirmed that because this batch of FLiBe molten salt was used only as a secondary loop coolant in historical experiments and never came into direct contact with fission nuclear fuel, its internal physical properties and chemical structure remain intact, fully meeting the standards for reemployment.

Unlike traditional solid-fuel light water reactors, the molten salt reactor developed by Natura uses nuclear fuel dissolved in liquid salt. This design allows the reactor to operate safely at atmospheric pressure and high temperatures, physically eliminating the risk of core meltdown caused by high temperature and pressure, and greatly enhancing inherent safety. In addition, the reactor can also utilize circulating waste as fuel and can even extract rare medical isotopes used for cancer treatment.