Office of Nuclear Reactor
Deployment (NE-52) Overview
Alison Hahn, Director
FY2024 CINR Webinar
May 31, 2023

NE-52

Office of Nuclear Reactor DeploymentReactor Optimization and Modernization
Light Water Reactor Sustainability• LWR modernization and optimization• Hydrogen production demonstrations
Advanced Reactor Modernization• Integrated Energy Systems• Safeguards and Security
Advanced SMR R&D• Industry Awards

Advanced Reactor Development
Advanced Reactor Technologies• Advanced non-LWRs R&D• Gas-cooled/TRISO• Molten Salt cooled/fueled• Fast metal cooled• Advanced structural materials• Microreactor R&D• ARC-20 Projects
Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program• National Reactor Innovation Center• Risk Reduction Projects• Regulatory framework and technical support2

Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program Overview
LWRS Mission: Enable long term operation of the existing commercial nuclear power fleet.
Focus: Originally material issues related to SLR applications, recent shift toward improving economic competitiveness
Plant Modernization••

Modernize technology by replacing existing I&C technologies with digital systems
Leverage digitalization to modernize business model

Flexible Plant Operation and Generation••

Maximize revenue by producing new economic products and integrating energy storage
Decarbonize industrial processes and support the grid as variable resources increase

Risk Informed System Analysis••

Applies quantitative methods to optimize safety, reliability, and economics
Coupling probabilistic risk assessment and systems margin quantification toachieve accurate modeling and representation of safety margins

Materials Research••

Understand and predict long-term behavior of materials
Including detecting, characterizing, and mitigating aging degradation

Physical Security••

Improve efficiency of physical security posture
Conduct research on risk-informed techniques, apply advanced modeling and simulation tools
assess benefits from proposed enhancements and novel mitigation strategies3Flexible Plant Operation Generation

Advanced Reactor Safeguards Program
Areas
Physical Protection
Systems

Pebble Bed
Reactor MC&A

Microreactor PPS
and MC&A

Liquid Fueled
MC&AInternational
Considerations

VendorEngagements• Reduce number of onsite responders• Reduce upfront costs• Evaluate enhanced
safety systems• Evaluate uniquesabotage targets• Evaluate regulatory
approach• Determine drivingrequirements• Evaluate newmonitoring
technologies• Develop a licensing
framework• Develop approaches
appropriate to the verysmall scale• Evaluate newmonitoring
technologies• Evaluate regulatory
approach• Develop baseline
accountancy
approaches• Evaluate newmeasurement andmonitoring
technologies• Consider internationalsafeguards
requirements• Interface with NNSA
programs• Support the Gen-IV
PR&PP working group• Design-specific MC&A
and PPS challenges• NNSA partnerships• Translate to lessons
learned or genericdeliverables

Advanced Reactor Technologies (ART) Program
Mission: Support the development and commercialization of innovative concepts including microreactor, fastreactor, molten salt reactor (MSR), and high temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) technologies through national
laboratory-led R&D, university research programs, and cost-shared private-public industry partnerships.

Fast Reactor Technologies• Demonstrate feasibility of advanced systems and component technologies• Methods and code validation to support design and licensing• Gas Reactor Technologies• Advanced alloy qualification• Scaled integral experiments to support design and licensing• MSR Technologies• Investigate fundamental salt properties• Materials, models, fuels and technologies for salt-cooled and salt-fueled reactors•• Microreactors• Non-nuclear and nuclear integrated system testing supporting commercial demonstrations and end-user applications• Maturation of innovative components and semi-autonomous operating regimes

TRISO Fuel and Graphite Qualification Program• TRISO Fuel Development and Qualification• Generate UCO TRISO fuel performance data
to support fuel qualification.
• Establish a domestic commercial TRISO fuelfabrication capability.

• Graphite Qualification• Select, irradiate, and characterize existing
nuclear grades.
• Qualify nuclear grade graphite and establish
design rules for use in HTGR core.

Advanced Reactor Regulatory Development
Mission: Coordinate with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and industry to address and resolve key regulatory framework issues that
directly impact the “critical path” to advanced reactor demonstration and deployment.
• DOE NE cost-share support of industry-led initiatives to adapt and establish a regulatory framework for advanced reactors• Technology-Inclusive Content of Applications Project (TICAP) is a risk-informed, performance-based (RIPB) approach to right-size
information in a license application to increase efficiency of generating and reviewing an application• Builds on NRC-endorsed Licensing Modernization Project systematic risk-informed process• Opportunity for early movers to demonstrate implementation of risk-informed, performance-based approach• NE R&D activities directly reduce technical and regulatory risks by providing bases for establishment of licensing technicalrequirements• Establish technical insights and tools regarding radionuclide transport and release from advanced reactors, including fast reactors, gascooled reactors, and molten salt reactors• Supporting NRC endorsement of codes and standards important for the manufacture of advanced reactor components• Validation and access to priority material property data to be used in safety codes and models

8National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC)• Demonstration siting support• Demonstration test beds
• Experimental infrastructure• Advanced Construction
Technology Initiative

Visit https://nric.inl.gov

9THANK YOU

Carbon Free Power Project:
NuScale SMR Demonstration at Idaho National
Laboratory
TurbineBuildingReactor
Building

NuScale SMR Attributes - Six-module Plant Configuration
••
•
•
•

6 Nuclear Power Modules - 462MWe (77 Mwe per module)
Leverages proven and commercially-available LWR fuel
Air Cooled Condensers – significantly reduces water use
Initial site characterization work completedFirst module operation planned for 2029
9

Risk Reduction Pathway Selected
Technologies• Kairos KP-FHR fluoride salt-cooled, TRISO
pebble fueled MSR• Westinghouse eVinci microreactor – heatpipe cooled, TRISO compact fueled• BWXT BANR – transportable microreactor,TRISO fueled

Kairos KP-FHR
Westingouse eVinci

BWXT BANR• Holtec SMR-160 – LWR-cooled SMR (onlyLWR design supported under ARDP)• Southern/TerraPower Molten Chloride Fast
Reactor (only liquid fueled design supportedunder ARDP)

Holtec SMR-160
TerraPower MCFR

Advanced Reactor Concepts (ARC)-20Awards
Reactor
TypeKey Deliverables

AdvancedReactor
Concepts

ARC-100 100 MWe pooltype sodium-cooled fast
reactorConceptual and preliminary
design of a seismically isolated
advanced sodium-cooled
reactor facility

GeneralAtomics

GA-EMS 50 MWe
gas-cooled fast
modular reactor

Conceptual design, Increase
maturity of systems andcomponents, develop prelim.
cost estimatesMIT

Modular Integrated GascooledHigh Temperature
Reactor (MIGHTR)

Conceptual design and support
for future commercialization

Prime Applicant

Advanced Reactor Concepts

General AtomicsMIT