Framatome Secures Contract for TerraPower in the United States

The American branch of Framatome has won a contract for the design of the fuel handling equipment for the Natrium reactor developed by TerraPower in collaboration with General Electric Hitachi (GEH).

In a statement released on February 22, 2024, Framatome announced that its American branch, Framatome USGS (US Government Solutions LLC.), has secured a contract for the design of the fuel handling equipment for the Natrium reactor. This reactor is a sodium-cooled fast reactor developed by TerraPower in collaboration with General Electric Hitachi (GEH).

“This equipment is custom-made, consisting of two separate modules mounted on rails for ‘fuel reloading and transferring of related components,'” Framatome explained. The fuel handling equipment will be jointly designed by Framatome and American Crane. The project’s design phase will be carried out at Framatome’s Operational Excellence Center in Lynchburg, Virginia, USA, with the equipment’s completion expected by July 2025. It will be installed in TerraPower’s demonstration plant, which aims to be operational by 2030[1].

About TerraPower’s Natrium

TerraPower, founded by Bill Gates in 2006, is currently developing two fast neutron reactors: a Molten Chloride Fast Reactor (MCFR) and a sodium-cooled reactor, the Natrium (which is simply the English name for sodium). The Natrium is a 345 MWe reactor paired with a molten salt thermal storage system, similar to those used in concentrated solar thermal power plants, allowing the output to increase to 500 MWe for a little over 5 hours.

“Framatome’s expertise and extensive experience are marks of trust and strengthen the diversity of our supply chain, which is necessary to bring this unique technology to market,” said Tara Neider, Senior Vice President and Project Manager of the Natrium demonstration reactor.■