Netherlands' Thorizon Launches Replaceable Core Material Testing for Molten Salt Reactor

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On October 14, Dutch advanced nuclear technology company Thorizon and the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) jointly launched a molten salt reactor materials and corrosion research project, with TNO leading material performance testing, corrosion testing, and service life prediction model development. The research will provide the basis for material selection and licensing applications for the PIONEER nuclear reactor demonstration project in Petten, the Netherlands, and support the subsequent development of the Thorizon One commercial reactor. The first batch of research work has commenced at Thorizon's facility in Amsterdam and TNO's laboratory in Petten.

Thorizon adopts a replaceable nuclear fuel cartridge design, encapsulating nuclear fuel-containing molten salt in independent sealed modules, with plans to replace them every 5 to 10 years. Its technical solution divides the reactor core into multiple standardized components, supporting modular manufacturing, transportation, and installation. Periodic replacement of fuel cartridges can shorten the duration during which key structural materials are continuously exposed to high-temperature corrosive molten salt, and allows inspection or replacement of relevant components during scheduled replacement periods.

The research focuses on structural material corrosion in molten salt environments, irradiation effects, and long-term service performance. TNO will conduct material characterization, corrosion testing, failure analysis, coating performance research, and life prediction, establish material behavior models based on experimental data, and verify model results through subsequent tests. The research will also assess whether the selected materials can meet the requirements of the fuel cartridge's intended service life and reactor operating conditions.

Thorizon has incorporated material validation into its phased reactor development plan. The company plans to first conduct full-scale non-nuclear tests in Eindhoven and Borssele to verify fuel cartridge assembly and primary loop system operating procedures; subsequently, it will implement the PIONEER nuclear demonstration project at the NRG PALLAS facility in Petten to obtain actual nuclear operation data. The commercial model Thorizon One is planned to have an electrical power of 100 MW and is intended to be deployed at the existing nuclear facility site in Borssele, the Netherlands, with the company planning to start construction in the early 2030s.

Thorizon and TNO also plan to engage Delft University of Technology and NRG PALLAS in domestic Dutch research, and invite the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) and the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) to join international cooperation. The proposed collaborative research scope includes molten salt chemistry, material irradiation, corrosion modeling, reactor engineering, and nuclear safety licensing.