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By
Clarion Energy Content
Directors
October
12, 2023
DOE microreactor prototype
reaches 90 percent final design
The proposed MARVEL
microreactor project at Idaho National Laboratory will help
researchers understand how advanced reactors could play a part in
intelligent energy grids. Idaho National Laboratory
The U.S.
Department of Energy (DOE) said its MARVEL microreactor, the first new
reactor at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in more than four decades,
achieved 90 percent final design.
DOE said the project can now
move forward with fabrication and construction.
MARVEL, a
sodium-potassium-cooled microreactor that will generate 85 kW of
thermal energy, is expected to be completed in early-2025. The
Department said it will be built inside the Transient Reactor Test
Facility at INL with future plans to connect it to a microgrid.
MARVEL will be used to help in
demonstrating microreactor applications, evaluating systems for remote
monitoring and developing autonomous control technologies for new
reactors.
DOE’s microreactor program
recently finished MARVEL’s final design report, which included more
than 200 supporting documents detailing the engineering analysis,
specifications, requirements and drawings of the reactor design.
The Department said the 90
percent completion threshold allows for minor changes that might arise
due to unforeseen complexities during construction and assembly.
While the design won’t be
considered 100 percent final until the microreactor is cleared for
operation, INL is now permitted to award contracts.
Later this year, INL will work
to purchase fuel for the microreactor, which will use a version of
TRIGA fuel similar to what is used in university research reactors
across the country.
Additional milestones include
safety analysis, training and drafting procedures, followed by the
construction and assembly of the reactor before fuel loading.
The U.S.
Department of Energy’s (DOE) MARVEL microreactor achieved 90 percent
final design, a key step that will allow the project to move forward
with fabrication and construction.
MARVEL will be the first new
reactor at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in more than four decades
and is expected to be completed in early 2025.
The reactor will be used to
help industry partners demonstrate microreactor applications, evaluate
systems for remote monitoring, and develop autonomous control
technologies for new reactors.
MARVEL Moves Ahead
The MARVEL design is a
sodium-potassium-cooled microreactor that will generate 85 kilowatts
of thermal energy. It will be built inside the Transient Reactor Test
Facility at INL with future plans to connect it to a microgrid.
DOE’s microreactor program
recently wrapped up MARVEL’s final design report, which included more
than 200 supporting documents detailing the engineering analysis,
specifications, requirements, and drawings of the reactor design.
The 90 percent threshold allows
for minor changes that might arise due to unforeseen complexities
during construction and assembly.
While the design won’t be
considered 100 percent final until the microreactor is cleared for
operation, this stage permits INL to award contracts and proceed with
next steps.
“This is truly a
precedent-setting moment for DOE and the nation,” said John Jackson,
the national technical director for DOE's microreactor program. “This
milestone paves the way for a microreactor test platform that will
answer fundamental questions of how microreactors will operate and the
variety of services they can provide to lower emissions across
multiple energy sectors.”
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