Name of the Project
Natrium reactor and energy storage system.

Location
The reactor is being built near a retiring coal-fired power plant in Wyoming, in the US.

Project Owner/s
Nuclear innovation company TerraPower is building the plant through a public–private partnership with the US Department of Energy’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program.

Project Description
It is the only coal-to-nuclear project under development in the world.

The project features a 345 MW sodium-cooled fast reactor with a molten salt-based energy storage system. 

The storage technology can boost the system’s output to 500 MW of power when needed, which is equivalent to the energy required to power about 400 000 homes. 

The energy storage capability enables the plant to integrate seamlessly with renewable resources and is the only advanced reactor design with this unique feature.

The reactor maintains constant thermal power at all times, maximising its capacity factor and value. Molten salt energy storage is more resilient, flexible and cost-effective than current grid-scale battery technology.

Potential Job Creation
About 1 600 workers will be needed for construction at the project’s peak. 

Once the plant is operational, the company estimates that 250 people will support day-to-day activities, including plant security.

Capital Expenditure
The programme authorises a 50:50 cost share and authorises up to $2-billion for the project. TerraPower and its partners will match this investment dollar for dollar. 

The first-of-its-kind cost for the Natrium demonstration plant will include the reactor design and licensing, codes and methods development, construction of the sodium test facility, the development of fuel and a fuel fabrication facility, as well as fuel qualification.

Planned Start/End Date
Construction on the nonnuclear portion of the plant started in June 2024 and is expected to take 36 months from nuclear concrete pour to fuel load.

TerraPower expects to submit the operating licence application in 2027. This will allow for the start of construction on the nuclear island in 2026. 

Latest Developments
TerraPower has received approval from the Wyoming Industrial Siting Council (ISC) on its permit for the proposed Natrium demonstration plant. 

The permit covers all construction and operational activities on the plant that are not under the jurisdiction of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

The permit from the Wyoming ISC, which TerraPower applied for in October 2024, will allow for the construction of nonnuclear facilities for the plant, including the energy island portion that houses the molten-salt energy storage tanks and turbines. 

With this permit complete, TerraPower will continue its construction schedule, with plans to start construction on the Kemmerer Training Centre and the energy island in 2025. It will also continue work on the sodium test-and-fill facility that started in 2024.

TerraPower will need to submit a separate operating licence application to obtain permission to run the reactor.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
TerraPower, email press@terrapower.com.