Nuclear Cogeneration Gains Momentum in Wyoming with New Microreactor Partnership
Engineering giant Burns & McDonnell has entered into an agreement with nuclear technology specialist BWXT Technologies to advance the design and development of the BWXT Advanced Nuclear Reactor (BANR). The microreactor project is an integral part of a contract with the Wyoming Energy Authority (WEA), which is assessing the viability of deploying small-scale nuclear reactors in the state.
BWXT has been developing the BANR high-temperature gas reactor (HTGR) microreactor since 2021 as part of the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program’s (ARDP’s) Risk Reduction program, with an $85.3 million award furnished over seven years.
As envisioned by BWXT, BANR will be a “modular, factory-fabricated system that is small and light enough to be transported via rail, ship or truck.” The 50 MWth reactor will be scalable to site needs, utilize flexible power conversion to produce heat and power, and use high-density TRI-structural ISOtropic particle fuel (TRISO) fuel particles.
The ARDP project scope for BANR has so far included developing a feasibility study to assess uranium oxycarbide (UCO) TRISO fuel kernels coated with multiple layers of pyrocarbon (PyC) and silicon carbide (SiC), so that they can withstand “extreme temperatures well beyond the threshold of current nuclear fuels.”
A key objective, however, is to upgrade BANR to higher-density uranium nitride (UN) fuel kernels that could provide twice the fuel density compared to UCO or uranium oxide, which would increase its power and extend the BANR’s core life. Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) are key participants in the ARDP effort, including for testing the train design, irradiating UN TRISO prismatic fuel in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR), and performing post-irradiation examination. The project is now in its third year of the seven-year program.
Wyoming Setting the Stage Microreactor Cogeneration
According to BWXT, BANR has immense potential to provide cogeneration for military operations, data centers, and remote mining operations. The microreactor technology could also be applied to naval and space nuclear propulsion and power efforts, it says.
In September 2023, as a key step to further its deployment, BWXT announced WEA awarded it a two-phase, two-year contract under a cost-share program to “assess the viability of deploying small-scale nuclear reactors in the state as a source of resilient and reliable energy to augment existing power generation resources.” The state, via WEA, has invested $10 million into the BWXT project, whose total cost is $20.5 million. “The nearly $10 million was divided into two phases,” WEA clarified. “The remaining $10 million-plus is being matched by other funding sources.”
The first phase, completed earlier this year, involved work by BWXT, in collaboration with Wyoming industries, to establish requirements for nuclear applications to meet base power and heat needs for remote, off-grid applications in the state.
The contract kicked off with a specific emphasis on trona mining operations. (Wyoming is one of the largest producers of trona, a naturally occurring mineral that is a key ingredient in various industrial processes like glass manufacturing, chemicals, paper, and detergents.) But while BWXT signed an agreement with soda ash manufacturer Tata Chemicals Soda Ash Partners, it has also since signed a joint development agreement with L&H Industrial, an industrial solutions firm focused on mining and heavy industrials.
In April, L&H said the collaborative effort—harnessed by a framework laid by INL’s Frontier’s Initiative and the WEA’s Matching Fund—will focus on the “development and potential deployment” of the BANR in “cogeneration sets.” The effort marks the initiation of a new model of microreactor deployment that will consider the business and financial models required to “meet the energy needs, reliability and resiliency of mining and other critical industries” in the region, it said.
“Collaborating with BWXT represents a unique opportunity for L&H to lead the way in the nuclear energy supply chain and further develop Evercore Energy, the operational company that will own, operate, and lease the energy provided by these groundbreaking cogen sets,” said Mike Wandler, president and CEO of L&H Industrial Inc.
Phase 2 Will Involve Crucial Engineering Work to Further BANR
Under phase one, however, BWXT also conducted crucial engineering work to further the BANR integrated system design, as well as work to identify where Wyoming’s existing supply chain can demonstrate capabilities for reactor component manufacturing. In addition, BWXT evaluated sites “tailored to end-user requirements,” assessed a “rough order of magnitude” estimate, and provided a licensing roadmap and strategy.
On June 17, given success in the first phase, BWXT announced WEA awarded it the second phase of the contract. “Phase 2 of the contract includes completing the conceptual design of a lead microreactor unit, developing a regulatory engagement plan and microreactor fleet model, and demonstrating the Wyoming supply chain’s ability to manufacture nuclear components,” the company noted. Phase 2 is slated to be completed by the third quarter of 2025.
Under the agreement unveiled on July 22, Burns & McDonnell said it would assist BWXT in developing the balance-of-plant (BOP) systems for the microreactor, generating the power plant layout, and performing preconstruction planning. “Burns & McDonnell’s project scope includes developing the power cycle architecture and identifying critical components such as the steam turbine generator and air-cooled condensers,” the company said. “Burns & McDonnell scope also includes site integration design and support for steam and power distribution infrastructure and reactor building structures.”
Scott Strawn, vice president and general manager of the Power Group at Burns & McDonnell, suggested the project could play a pioneering role in supercharging the deployment of microreactors. BWXT, he noted, is “a premier nuclear manufacturer that’s been designing, building, and delivering reactors for decades.” The project “has so many unique aspects to it, including cogeneration, which would be the first domestic nuclear application that produces both electricity and steam for industrial use,” he said.
BWXT Evaluating Locations for TRISO Production in Wyoming
BWXT is, meanwhile, also evaluating locations for a potential new TRISO nuclear fuel production facility in Wyoming. On July 18, the company revealed it signed a cooperation agreement with the state to “evaluate the requirements for siting a fuel fabrication facility in the state.” The 18-month effort “will evaluate such matters as potential factory locations, product specifications, facility design and engineering, estimated capital expenditures and operating costs, staffing and worker skill requirements, supply chain necessities, licensing, and other requirements,” it said.
The announcement is a notable first for BWXT, marking a definitive foray into the manufacture of TRISO fuel to support the emerging advanced reactor market. “BWXT owns and operates the only two Nuclear Regulatory Commission Category 1-licensed commercial nuclear facilities in the U.S., and we also manufacture fuel for the highly successful Canadian nuclear power market,” said Joe Miller, president of BWXT Advanced Technologies LLC. “For approximately 40 years, BWXT has furnished nuclear fuel across numerous government and commercial markets, giving the company a unique and highly credible background from which to draw on as we review options for a potential new facility.”
The company added that its new effort to establish TRISO production “will help establish the baseline for facilities necessary to meet anticipated demand for this specialized nuclear fuel and includes establishing the scale necessary for economic viability.”
The company notes it is already spearheading several specialized projects beyond BANR. Under a flagship project with the Department of Defense’s (DOD’s) Strategic Capabilities Office (SCO), BWXT is working to manufacture and deliver Project Pele, a 1-MWe to 5 MWe terrestrial HTGR microreactor, with plans to deploy it at INL. The project, which received full funding in the fiscal 2024 Defense Bill, is currently in the procurement phase. The Defense Supplemental Bill, signed into law in April, meanwhile, supports NASA and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s DRACO project, the first demonstration of a nuclear thermal rocket engine. DRACO’s nuclear thermal propulsion system will use high assay low enriched uranium (HALEU), and it is targeted for a 2027 launch.
For Wyoming, the possibility of an advanced nuclear fuel fabrication facility is highly attractive. The state is notably hosting a much-watched federal demonstration project, TerraPower’s Kemmerer Unit 1. Slated to come online in 2030, the 345-MW hybrid nuclear power and energy storage project will integrate an 840 MWth pool-type Natrium sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR) with a nitrate molten salt-based energy storage system. The project, which broke ground on June 10, is the first advanced nuclear reactor project to move from design into construction in the Western Hemisphere, TerraPower has noted.
“As the world’s energy demands continue to rise, Wyoming must stay focused on protecting our core industries while continually augmenting our sources of energy,” said Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon. “Wyoming has it all. Nuclear has been a stalwart in our energy portfolio, and like coal, can start with raw materials mined in Wyoming, processed in Wyoming, and used in Wyoming. A true trifecta,” he said.
—Sonal Patel is a POWER senior editor (@sonalcpatel, @POWERmagazine).
Correction: The WEA has invested $9,999,802 in the BWXT project, which has a total cost of $20,589,751. The WEA’s contribution is nearly $10 million, divided into two phases. POWER previously reported that the total contract was valued at $20 million. Accuracy is important to us, and we regret the error.