In December 2024, US small modular reactor (SMR) developer TerraPower selected suppliers for the reactor’s enclosure system. Spanish engineering firm Equipos Nucleares SA will produce the reactor head, while Doosan Enerbility will supply the core barrel, guard vessel and internal supports for the Natrium reactor. The reactor vessel is to be manufactured by Korea’s HD Hyundai and French machinery and equipment manufacturer Marmen will build the rotating plug.
“Since signing a manufacturability review contract for key equipment of TerraPower’s first-of-a-kind unit in December 2024, Doosan Enerbility has developed and implemented design improvements to support successful manufacturing, raising the design maturity to a level ready for manufacturing orders,” the company said. “The multi-year collaboration has established a strong partnership combining TerraPower’s reactor technology and safety with Doosan Enerbility’s advanced manufacturing capabilities.
“The equipment supplied by Doosan Enerbility is expected to play a critical role in ensuring the timely construction and commercial operation of TerraPower’s unit.”
Jongdoo Kim, CEO of Doosan Enerbility’s Nuclear Business Group, said: “This manufacturing contract was signed based on years of close collaboration and trust with TerraPower. We will successfully execute the project while continuing to strengthen our SMR manufacturing capabilities and expand our role as a global supplier.”
Last week, TerraPower signed agreements with South Korea’s Hyundai Engineering & Construction (HDEC) and SK Innovation to develop and commercialise its Natrium reactor technology across the USA, Korea and select international markets. The agreements were signed in Seoul during the first meeting among the top executives of the three companies since HD Hyundai, TerraPower and HDEC signed a trilateral memorandum of understanding in May to cooperate on next-generation sodium reactor projects.
TerraPower’s Natrium technology features a 345 MWe sodium-cooled fast reactor with a molten salt-based energy storage system. The storage technology can temporarily boost the system’s output to 500 MWe when needed, enabling the plant to follow daily electric load changes and integrate seamlessly with fluctuating renewable resources. TerraPower began non-nuclear construction for its first Natrium plant, in Kemmerer, Wyoming, in June 2024, and expects construction of the plant – which it says will be the first commercial-scale, advanced nuclear project in the USA – to be complete in 2030. The first Natrium project is being developed through the US Department of Energy’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program. The Natrium reactor is a TerraPower and GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy technology.
In addition to the first Natrium plant under construction, TerraPower has an agreement with Facebook and Instagram owner Meta for up to eight Natrium plants by 2035.
