US sees nuclear renaissance with new micro-reactor, eyes global markets, including India

A small nuclear reactor developed by a private US company has achieved first criticality, a stepping stone in the development of small modular reactors, which Washington plans to sell to countries including India.

The Mark-0 demonstration reactor, built by Antares Nuclear, achieved first criticality — the start of a self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction — on June 4, a month ahead of schedule, as US President Donald Trump encouraged the private sector to develop newer nuclear reactors.

Experts describe the crucial milestone as the heralding of a second nuclear renaissance in the country that had not tested new technologies in the sector for over four decades.

Maria Korsnick, the President and CEO of the Nuclear Energy Institute, said that the US is keen to sell small reactors to India besides the conventional large reactors such as the AP-1000s.

“Yes, there’s going to be an appetite for small modular reactors and even potentially microreactors. It just sort of depends on what exactly it is that you want to do, and there’s a nuclear solution that’s ready for you,” Korsnick told PTI in an interview.

The microreactors under development in the US have the capacity to generate power in the range of a few hundred kilowatts to 1.2 megawatts (MW). These reactors can be assembled and flown in an aircraft for deployment anywhere in the world. The US is also planning to use nuclear power for future space missions.

The Antares reactor is the first among the three small reactors to demonstrate new nuclear capabilities in the

US by July 4, the 250th anniversary of American Independence. The other two micro-reactors are -eVinci, developed by Westinghouse, and Kaleidos by Radiant.

“I think June 4th will be a historic day in the American nuclear renaissance,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said here.

Last year, Trump signed executive orders to remove regulatory barriers in the development of new nuclear technologies.

The orders granted the Department of Energy authority to approve advanced reactor designs and projects, which was previously the job of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the regulator of the nuclear industry in the US.

Korsnick said the development of fracking technologies a few decades ago made gas the preferred choice for power generation, leading to stagnation in the nuclear sector.

“If you look back over the last 30-plus years, the demand in the United States has been relatively flat. Fracking really became much more prevalent and dropped the price of natural gas pretty significantly, making it the preferential source and a selection to be made,” she said.

Korsnick said advancements in fuel supply as well as different models of nuclear reactors present multiple options for industrial use of the technologies.

“There are advancements in the fuel supply as well as advancements in the different makes and models. Some are going to be cooled by water. Some could be cooled by molten salt. Some could be cooled by a gas,” she said.

“We think about it (nuclear power) as feeding the electric grid, but there’s so much more. You might want the high-temperature steam. That might be the service that you want to get for whatever industrial use that you have. You might want to produce hydrogen. Maybe hydrogen is interesting to you for whatever your process is,” Korsnick said, adding that nuclear technologies present an option in each of the cases.

“So, you can look at nuclear as I could get electricity. I could get high-temperature steam. You know, I could use it to create hydrogen. It gives you the availability for so many different things you might be interested in,” said Korsnick, who led a delegation of US nuclear industry representatives to India to explore opportunities.

Last December, India passed the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Act that opened up the tightly-controlled atomic energy sector to private players and presented a new liability regime in line with global practices.

India has set a target to produce 100 GW of power using nuclear fuels by 2047, a significant jump from the present capacity of about 9 GW. It aims to do so using a mix of large reactors and small modular reactors for energy-intensive industries such as steel and cement.

India is developing three different types of small modular reactors (SMRs), including one dedicated to the production of hydrogen.

The 200 MWe Bharat Small Modular Reactor (BSMR), 55 MWe SMR and 5 MWth High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor, for the production of hydrogen, are being designed and developed indigenously.