The Nuclear Choices Facing Canadians A Brief to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Natural Resources by Terrestrial Energy Inc. Submitted 9 December, 2016 TerrestrialEnergyInc.
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Introduction Weappreciatethisopportunitytoplaceourviewsonthistopicbeforethe
Committee.WebelievetheCommittee’sexaminationoftheFutureoftheNuclear
Sectoristimely,andwewelcometheCommittee’sreportandrecommendations.We
hopeourperspectivesonsomeoftheimportantissuesfacingthesector,andthe
policyissuesfacingthegovernment,willassistyouinyourdeliberations.
Defining Terms Ourfirstobservationisthatitisimportanttodefinetermswhendiscussingthe
futureofthenuclearsector.The“nuclearoption”isnotmonolithic,anditshould
not,therefore,beidentifiedsinglywiththeConventionalReactoroptionthatis
currentlyinuseworld‐wide.Whenexaminingthefutureofnuclearenergy,we
recommendthattheCommitteecastitsnetwiderthanthecurrentnuclearproduct
inthemarkettoday,i.e.,theConventionalReactor.Conversely,werecommendthat
theCommitteenotjudgeAdvancedReactorsthroughtheprismofattitudestoward
today’sConventionalReactors,thereactorsthatweseeinthemarkettoday.
The alternative to Conventional Reactors is not Small Modular Reactors Theterm“SmallModularReactor”(SMR)refersonlytothesizeandflexibilityofthe
reactor,nottothetechnologyituses.ThealternativetoConventionalReactorsisnot
SMR,butAdvancedReactors.Arguably,aConventionalReactor–i.e.,anuclear
reactorusingsolidfuelrodsandwater‐cooled–couldbesmallandmodular,too,as
arethereactorsystemsonnuclearsubmarines,forexample.Inpractice,however,
theelaborateengineeringandcontainmentsystemsdemandedtomakeasuccessful
regulatorySafetyCase1forthecivilianpowerapplicationsofConventionalReactors
aresocostlythattheyrequirelargescaletoamortizethecostsandmakethe
installationseconomicallyviable.Bycontrast,thesuperiorSafetyCases,with
attendantcostsavings,thatcanberealizedwithAdvancedReactorsystemsallow
themtobedeployedeconomicallyevenassmallmodularinstallations(typically
understoodtobelessthan300MWe).This,however,innowaylimitsAdvanced
ReactorsystemsonlytoSMRapplications.AdvancedReactorsystemscanalsobe
scaleduptoproducethesameamountofenergyasourexistingfleetof
ConventionalReactors.
1AnuclearSafetyCaseisanextensivesetofdocumentsanddisclosurespresentedtoaNuclear
RegulatoryAuthoritytosecureanoperatinglicense.
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The exercise is neither “academic” nor “trivial” WhilethepaceofgrowthinenergydemandinCanadahasslowedinrecentyears–
duetoenergyconservation,tosomeextent,butalsotoglobalizationandtheshiftof
highenergy‐consumingmanufacturingindustriestodevelopingcountries–global
demandforenergycontinuestogrowrapidlyasdoesthedemandforfossilfuel
substitution.EveninCanada,demandfornewandcleanenergysourceswill
continuetogrowbothaseffortstoreducegreenhousegasesincrease,andas
existingsourcesofcleanenergy,suchasourexistingfleetofnuclearreactors,reach
theendoftheirservicelives.Wearenotconvinced–andneitheraremostexpertsin
thefield–thatwecanmeetourdemandforcleanenergybyrelyingonrenewable
sourcesalone.Newnuclearoptionsmustbeincludedinourenergybasketifweare
toachievetheCOP21targets.Thatisthestarkreality–althoughitisinconvenient
forsome.
WorldEnergyConsumption,1990‐2040
(quadrillionBtu)
Source:InternationalEnergyOutlook2016,fromtheU.S.Energy
InformationAdministration
Advanced Reactors represents a sea change from Conventional Reactors WhendiscussingthemeritsofAdvancedReactorsystems,thesystemsshouldbe
consideredastechnologiesthataredistinctfromConventionalReactorsystems.
Whilebothsystemsexploitnuclearfission,theydosousingverydifferent
technologychoices–and,asaconsequence,theissuesthatareproblematicfor
ConventionalReactorsmaybedifferentforAdvancedReactors.Inthecaseof
TerrestrialEnergy,ourIntegralMoltenSaltReactor(IMSR)usesanAdvanced
Reactorsystemknownasa“moltensaltreactor.”WecandemonstratethattheIMSR
hasmanyuniquevirtuesthatsupportacompletelydifferentSafetyCase.This
producesanumberofsignificantcommercialandsociallicensebenefits.
The Integral Molten Salt Reactor TheIMSRisa400MegaWattThermal(MWth),thermalspectrum,graphite
moderated,moltenfluoridesaltreactorsystem,fueledbylowenricheduranium–
unlikeanyreactorsystemthathasbeencommercializedtodate.TheIMSRachieves
hightechnologyreadinessbyincorporatingmanynuclear‐industryacceptedand
demonstratedmethodsformoltensaltreactoroperationsanddesign,specifically
thosefromtheMSREandDMSRreactorsdesignedandoperatedatOakRidge
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NationalLaboratoryintheUS.TheIMSR’skeyinnovationistheintegrationofthe
primarycomponentsofthereactorcoreintoasealedandreplaceablevesselthat
hasanoperatinglifeofsevenyears.Thiskeydesignchoiceavoidsallfundamental
technologychallengesthatmustbeovercomeformoltensaltreactor
commercialization–specifically,challengesregardingthelifetimeofmaterials,often
citedasobstaclestoearlydeployment.WiththeIMSRdesign,TerrestrialEnergyis
undertakinganengineering,licensinganddeploymentprojectforinitialdeployment
inthe2020sofanAdvancedReactor–onewith“gamechanging”commercialand
environmentalmerits.
The fundamental difference between the IMSR and a Conventional reactor Allcommercialscalereactorsinoperationtodayaresolid‐fuelled.Bycontrast,the
IMSRisaliquid‐fuelledsystem.Thisfundamentaldifferenceproducesa
fundamentallydifferentSafetyCasefortheIMSR.Becausenuclearfissioncreates
enormousenergyintheformofheat(nearlyonemilliontimesmoreenergyperkilo
ofnuclearfuelthanforfossilfuels),thedissipationofheatis,andhasalwaysbeen,
themaindesignchallengefacedbyallnuclearreactors–anditisalsocentraltothe
SafetyCase.Byvirtueofusingaliquidfuel,heatfromthefissionprocessinamolten
saltreactorisdissipatedthroughconvectioninthesaltmixture(obviatingtheneed
forwatercoolantsoperatinginapressurizedloop)–thisisimpossibletodowith
anysolid‐fuelledreactorsystem,i.e.,allConventionalReactors.TheIMSRoperates
usingacoolingsystembasedonnaturalandpassiveprocesseswhicharesimple,
secureandrobust,thusrenderingtheIMSR“walk‐away”safe–i.e.,evenifallpower
tothesystemfailedandnohumanwerepresentattheplant,thereactionwould
shutdownandthereactorwouldcoolquietlyonitsown.Sincealargeproportionof
thecapitalexpenditurerequiredtobuildaConventionalReactoriscommittedtothe
complexengineeredsystemsneededtosupportthereactor’sSafetyCase–and,
specifically,withrespecttoheatdissipation–theIMSRhasafundamental
commercialadvantagethat,alongwithsafety,iskeytothefutureofnuclearenergy:
cost.[PleaseseetheConfidential“IMSRCostInnovationWhitePaper”deliveredtothe
Committeeunderseparatecover.]
The IMSR should not be considered only for “niche” applications ThecomponentsoftheIMSR,includingits“Core‐unit”havethedistinctvirtueof
beingsmallandmodular–theCore‐unitcanbefabricatedinafactoryandcanbe
ordinarilytransportedonarailcarortruckbedtoitsinstallationsite.Assuch,it
doeslenditselftoconsiderationforoff‐grid,remotelocations.Thisvirtue,however,
shouldnotcreatetheimpressionthattheIMSRissuitableonlytonichemarkets
suchasoff‐gridandremoteapplications.Thetoweringcommercialopportunityfor
IMSRisinmainstreamheatandpowermarketsand,todate,theIMSRdesignhas
beendrivenbytheneedsofthesemarkets.
 Itisanobviousalternativetothecurrentfleetofnuclearreactorsandcould
beco‐locatedonexistingsites,whereitcouldoperatesymbioticallywiththe
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CANDUreactorsduringtheremainingdecadesoftheirpost‐refurbishment
operatinglives.
TheIMSRisascleanashydropowerandhaslessenvironmentalimpact.
Weestimatethat,onceinproduction,theIMSRwillproduceheatandpower
atalowercostthancoalandatacomparablecosttonaturalgas–although
unliketheenergyproducedbybothfossilfuels,theenergyproducedbythe
IMSRwillbecarbon‐free.
BecausetheIMSRcan“ramp‐up”poweroutputveryquickly,itcanprovide
dispatchable–andcarbon‐free–powertobackuprenewableenergysources
suchaswindandsolarpower;currently,theserelyprincipallyonnaturalgas
back‐up(which,tous–and,infact,tomanyothersaswell,includingthe
InternationalPanelonClimateChange–seemstodefeatthepurposeof
havingacarbon‐freealternative).
TheIMSRalsogeneratesheatat6000C,whichmakesitideallysuitedfor
industrialprocessheat–amarketcurrentlyservedalmostexclusivelyby
naturalgas.ConventionalReactors,bycontrast,produceusableheatatless
than300oC,whichlimitstheirindustrialapplication.
TheEnergyLandscape–
Cost(Power)andHeat
Source:TerrestrialEnergyInc.
The IMSR should not be factored in only for future plans – it should be factored in today CommercializationoftheIMSRisanengineeringproject,notaresearch&
developmentproject.TheR&DonwhichmuchoftheIMSRdesignisbasedwas
conductedinthe60s,70sand80sattheOakRidgeNationalLaboratory.Avery
similarreactortotheIMSR,onethatusedmoltensaltreactortechnology,was
successfullyoperatedforfouryearsinthelate1960s–again,attheOakRidge
NationalLaboratory.InFebruary2016,TerrestrialEnergysubmitteditsIMSR
designtotheCanadianNuclearSafetyCommission(CNSC)forPhaseIofitspre‐
licensingVendorDesignReview.TheCompanyisontrackwithitsplantolicense,
constructandcommissionthefirstcommercialIMSRAdvancedReactorpowerplant
nextdecade.Thisiswellwithintheplanninghorizonofpolicymakers,energy
departmentsandpowerutilitiesthataremakingcapitalchoicestomeet2020‐2030
powercommitments,particularlyrelatingtocoalsubstitution.
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The IMSR provides improved solutions for the management of spent fuel Amongenergyproducers,thenuclearsectoristheonlyonethattakescomplete
responsibilityformanagingtheby‐productsofitsenergyproduction–and
underwritesthetotalcostofmanagingitsspentfuel.Althoughfuelandwaste
disposalcostsarenotprimarydriversofnuclearpowerproduction,theyare
importantfactorstosupportsociallicensingandtoreduceenvironmentalimpacts.
TheIMSRproduceselectricpowermoreefficientlycomparedwithConventional
Reactorsystems–whichimpliesitrequireslessmineduraniumandproducesless
spentnuclearfuel.ThecurrentIMSRdesignproduces30%to40%lessspent
nuclearfuelperKWhofelectricityproduced,whichisasignificantimprovement
overConventionalReactortechnologies.However,futureiterationsoftheIMSR
couldreducethisevenfurtherbyconsumingfarmoreofthenuclearfuelandleaving
evenlesswaste,andcouldalsoconsumetheexistingspentfuelofConventional
Reactors.ThespentfuelofCANDUreactors,forexample,isrichinplutonium,an
excellentIMSRnuclearfuel,whichcurrentlyrequireslong‐termandsocially
problematicstorage.Instead,CANDUspentfuelcouldbearichfuelsourceforfuture
IMSRs.SuchfutureiterationsoftheIMSRcouldpotentiallyreducethespentnuclear
fuel“issue”by99percent–therebysignificantlyaddressingamajorpublic
objectiontonuclearenergy.Inbroadterms,theenergytheIMSRcouldreleasefrom
consumingCANDUfuelcouldbeasourceofheatandpowertomeetCanada’stotal
energyneedsformanydecades.WithAdvancedReactors,CANDU“waste”should
rightlybeviewednotasaliability,butasanationalenergytreasureforthefuture.
Policy implications for your Committee to consider 1. Basedonarelativeassessmentofitsmeritsandbenefits,Advanced
Reactortechnologyshouldbefrontandcentreamongthepolicyoptions
consideredbyalllevelsofgovernmenttomeetfutureenergyneeds.
AdvancedReactorsprovidetechnologieswiththecommercialcredentialsto
driveeconomicgrowthandimproveCanadianindustrialcompetitiveness.
Convenient,cost‐competitiveenergyiskeytoeconomichealth.Infuture,with
theadventofcarbonpenalties,findingasubstituteforfossilfuelcombustion
thatiscleanaswellasconvenientandcost‐competitivewillhaveevengreater
economicimportance.AdvancedReactors,suchastheIMSR,promisetodeliver
thatsubstitute.
Ifweareseriousaboutreducingourcarbonfootprintandweareseriousabout
endingcoal‐poweredelectricityproductioninCanadaby2030,thenweshould
useallthetoolsavailabletoustodaytoachievethatgoal.Wecannotrelyon
windandsolaralone–indeed,windandsolarwillcontinuetobetertiary
sourcesofpowerfortheforeseeablefuture.Governmentneedstotalkopenly
andsupportivelyabouttheroleofnuclearpowertomeetourimportantfuture
energyneeds.
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2. Thegovernmentshouldnot“pickalane”–i.e.,attempttochoosethe
“right”technologythatisgoingtomeetourneeds.
Thatistheoldparadigmofnuclearinnovation.Todaythereisanewparadigm,
wherenuclearinnovationisledbytheprivatesector,andmarketactiondrives
theselectionofwhichcompaniesandtechnologieswillthrive,limitingthe
winnerstothoseofgreatestmarketmerit.
Instead,thegovernmentshouldadopta“watermanyflowers”approachto
encourageprivatesector‐ledAdvancedReactorinnovation.Thesolutionswill
needtobecommerciallyviableforthemtobeadoptedbyindustry,which
impliesthat,ultimately,theprivatesectorisinabetterpositiontopickthelane
–orlanes.
3. Thegovernmentneedstopreserveandinvestintherightunder‐pinnings
forAdvancedNucleartothriveinCanada.
Canadahasaproudtraditionofnuclearleadershipgoingbacktothedawnofthe
AtomicAge.Today,wetreatournuclearinfrastructureasa“legacyproduct,”
providingonlyenoughfundingtosustainit,butnoneoftheinvestmenttogrow
it.Asaresult,feweruniversitiesfocusonproducingthenextgenerationof
nuclearspecialists,andresearchfacilitiesaredisappearing.Furthermore,we
predictthat,followingthereburbishmentsoftheOntario‐basedCANDUfleet,
Canadawillbeindangeroflosingfromitsnationalengineeringbaseanentire
cohortwithspecializedskills.Thiscohortmaynotbeeasilysustainedor
replacedwithoutGovernmentreinforcing,throughwordsandaction,the
importanceofnucleartechnologyandinnovationinCanada;itiscleartoprivate
marketsthatthegovernment,sofar,hasbeenshyindoingthis.
4. Tocompeteinternationallyandinthenuclearindustry,Canadawillneed
toprovideitsdomesticAdvancedReactorindustrywithadomesticand
reliablesourceofneurons.
ThisisessentialtofacilitateresearchanddevelopmentofAdvancedReactors.
Previously,thissourceofneutronswastheNRUtestfacilityatChalkRiver,
whichwillceaseoperationsin2018.Unlessreplaced,privatesectorinnovators
willbeforcedtoconducttheirresearchanddevelopmentoutsideofCanada,
wheresuitableneutronsourcescanbefound.Insteadofbeingamagnetfor
nuclearresearchersfromaroundtheworld,Canadawillbethrowingupa
barriertothedevelopmentofitsnuclearindustry.Theinnovationwillcontinue,
andAdvancedReactorswillbecomewidespread.Insteadofleadingthis
development,however,Canadamayfinditselfimportingthetechnologyin
future.
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Conclusion TheIMSR’svaluepropositionhasthreeelements:itprovidesCleanenergy;it
providesConvenientenergy;anditprovidesCost‐Competitiveenergy.Bydelivering
thesethree“Cs”,TerrestrialEnergywillbeabletocommercializeitsIMSR–and
revolutionizetheenergyindustry.WebelievetheIMSRchangestheenergy
paradigm.WeencourageyourCommitteetoembracethepotentialofAdvanced
Nuclearandtokick‐startanewconversationaboutnuclearenergy,nuclear
innovationandAdvancedReactorsinourcountry–aconversationbasedon
optimism,opportunityandthepromiseofamuchbetterworld.Itisanopportunity
wecannotaffordtomiss.
RespectfullysubmittedbyTerrestrialEnergyInc.,ofOakville,ON.