The UK government has announced during the 2021 Nuclear Industry Association annual conference that it has chosen high-temperature gas reactors (HTGRs) as its preferred advanced nuclear reactor technology.
UK Government Chooses High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactors (HTGRs) For Advanced Modular Reactor Programme
The UK government has announced during the 2021 Nuclear Industry Association annual conference that it has chosen high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs) as its preferred advanced reactor technology for the Advanced Modular Reactor Research, Development & Demonstration Programme.
Greg Hands (Minister of State for Business, Energy and Clean Growth) said, “I’m pleased to announce today that we will focus on HTGRs as the technology choice for the Programme moving forward - with the ambition for this to lead to a demonstration by the early 2030s.”
“The UK government recognizes that it will require a massive build-out of nuclear power to achieve its 2050 net-zero carbon goals. And advanced technologies like HTGRs are earning global recognition for safety, cost and ability to perform for multiple applications,” said J. Clay Sell, X-energy CEO, while in attendance of the conference and hearing the Minister’s announcement firsthand.
X-energy’s Xe-100 is an 80 MWe (scalable to a 320 MWe four-pack) high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR). It uses TRi-structural ISOtropic particle fuel (TRISO-X), which the U.S. Department of Energy has called the “the most robust nuclear fuel on Earth.” In addition to clean, around-the-clock carbon-free electricity, the steam from the Xe-100 can be used in applications including clean hydrogen production, desalination, and other energy-intensive industrial processes.
In October 2020, The U.S. Department of Energy announced X-energy as one of two awardees for its Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP), providing $160 million in initial funding to build two advanced nuclear reactors that can be operational within seven years. Recently, U.S. Congress appropriated ~$1.1B dollars to X-energy’s ARDP project with historic legislation recognizing clean energy supply as vital to U.S. infrastructure and economic health.
About X-energy
X-energy is redefining nuclear energy. It manufactures fuel that seals uranium particles in a protective coating, which makes meltdown impossible and retains the uranium fuel forever. X-energy also designs plants that unlock the fuel's energy potential in a process that's as clean as wind or solar. When combined, the result is reliable carbon-free baseload power, produced more safely and affordably than ever before and available anywhere, at any time. For more information, visit https://x-energy.com or connect with us on Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram.
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