Natura Resources moved one step closer to deploying its first molten salt reactor (MSR) system with the grand opening on Sept. 1 of the facility that will house this first-of-a-kind reactor. The 28,000-square-foot Science and Engineering Research Center (SERC) at Abilene Christian University (ACU) is the first advanced reactor facility constructed in the U.S. and the site where Natura will first demonstrate its reactor technology.
On hand to celebrate the grand opening of the SERC were more than 300 people, including donors, investors, government officials, national lab representatives, scientists from the Natura Resources Research Alliance, and leadership from Zachry Group, which just last month was selected to complete the detailed design engineering of this first MSR.
David Holcomb, molten salt reactor technology leader at Idaho National Lab, made clear the significance of this facility and the work that will take place within it:
“Enabling the deployment of advanced nuclear reactors and developing advanced fuel cycles are vital parts of realizing the potential of nuclear energy to meet U.S. energy, environmental, and economic needs. This science and engineering research center and the research reactor which it will house directly support achieving these national goals.”
Doug Robison, Founder and President of Natura Resources, in reference to this historic event, had this to say:
“At Natura Resources we’re pushing beyond paper reactors. The construction permit application for this first system is currently under review with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. We just brought Zachry Group onto our team to complete the detailed design engineering of the system. And now we have officially opened the facility where we are going to deploy our first MSR system. The need for clean, sustainable energy is too great to just talk about what might be. Our world needs an energy company that doesn’t just make promises about sustainability goals but actually performs, and that’s what we’re doing at Natura Resources.”
Natura Resources is seeking to deploy its first MSR system in this new facility by 2026, and then begin deploying larger systems for commercial operations in the early 2030s. Natura intends to deploy MSRs that are factory-built modular construction and fully walk-away safe. These reactors will produce firm, carbon-free energy with significantly less waste than conventional reactors due to the utilization of liquid fuel. Ultimately, Natura Resources’ line of MSRs will create safe, clean, on-demand energy that can produce carbon-free electricity, provide both electrical and thermal energy to support a range of applications that require high-temperature steam or process heat, such as water desalination and chemical/material production, and produce life-saving medical isotopes, all at a competitive price.
