Fluid Fuel Nuclear Reactors

DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy Awards $19 Million to Advance Recycling of Used Nuclear Fuel The Office of Nuclear Energy today awarded over $19 million to five U.S. companies to research and develop recycling technologies for used nuclear fuel.

It's a major step forward: Flibe sought this type of grant for over 7 years. Flibe is 1 of 5 companies to receive grants from this $19.3M in funding. DOE said the purpose is "resolving the technical and economic challenges of recycling in a manner that meets our nonproliferation goals." 2/2

Flibe Energy has won a DOE grant to refine its concept for recycling used nuclear fuel. Flibe will research electrochemical processes that dissolve fuel rods, separate the uranium for reuse in conventional reactors, and retain fission products and transuranics for use in liquid-fuel reactors. 1/2

YouTube video by Europe’s Foundry Why Thorium Nuclear Energy Will Change Society Forever | Copenhagen Atomics #004

The best part of this video runs from 6:20 to 15:00. It's a visit to the Copenhagen Atomics production facility, where the company's co-founders display equipment like molten-salt pumps, piping systems, and a reactor core. They describe the operation and years-long testing of those components.

This article added an operation date: "According to the ... Chinese Academy of Sciences last year, it is planned to build a 10 megawatt electrical power (10MWe) small modular thorium-based molten salt reactor ... breaking ground within 2025 and operating at full power for the first time in 2030."

I'm impressed that the World Health Organization was able to reexamine its conclusions about Chernobyl's health impacts when more current, complete epidemiological data became available.

Salt Tanks

Here is detailed information about the company's salt storage tanks, including overview, FAQs, and data sheet.

Text of the Copenhagen Atomics announcement.

Molten salt reactor developer Copenhagen Atomics announced the sale of more than 50 salt storage tanks to a US customer. It's the company's largest commercial order yet, and reflects demand from "advanced nuclear and fusion applications." Source: CA Newsletter, New Years 2025-26.

China Reveals Critical Specifications For World’s Largest Nuclear-Powered Cargo Ship Marine Insight - The maritime industry guide.

This Nov 2025 article has more tech details:
-Reactor will run a supercritical CO₂ Brayton cycle generator to generate 50MW electricity.
-Reactor is a sealed modular unit; whole unit will be replaced after 10 years.
-China is also developing ships that use other GenIV reactor technologies.

Idaho National Lab Creates First Batch of Fuel for World’s First Fast Spectrum Molten Salt Reactor Experiment Researchers at Idaho National Laboratory have successfully created the first batch of fuel salt for the Molten Chloride Reactor Experiment.

This fuel-production demonstration is another step toward an operating reactor at Idaho National Lab in 2028. The fuel-creation process converts 95% of uranium metal into liquid fuel "in only a few hours."

Dutch support for molten salt reactor demonstrator facility Molten salt reactor developer Thorizon announced it has secured broad industrial and regional support in the Netherlands for the construction of Thorizon Pioneer, a nuclear demonstrator for next-gener...

Molten salt reactor developer Thorizon announced it has secured broad industrial and regional support in the Netherlands for the construction of Thorizon Pioneer, a nuclear demonstrator for next-generation molten-salt reactors.
www.world-nuclear-news.org/articles/dut...

"This is not a race to the first plant. The real commercial race here, Jim, is the race to fleet deployment next decade, and that's the one that we want to win." 9/9

"we can serve as heat, power, and any combination in between ... Our steam systems are nonnuclear. ... This is one of the virtues of some Generation IV systems. ... you can basically rearrange them quickly without having to re-argue a safety case, which is uneconomic." 8/9

"if you can actually bring the means of gigawatt-scale industrial production with a small and modular nuclear plant to the point of industrial demand, you have something that is really a unique and different paradigm." 7/9

"The idea that you put something massive at the center of the grid and then string cables to distribute it -- that's going to take a lot of time to build that out. ... You get bottlenecks in it. We have grid congestion." 6/9

"David's design [David LeBlanc, founder and CTO of Terrestrial Energy] of a molten-salt reactor met my criteria as a nuclear machine that could be developed quickly and was very much aligned with the commercial requirements that I believe had to be met ..." 5/9

"If you look to the nuclear industry and how technologies have been selected, they've been selected for many different reasons. But I don't think nuclear technologies have ever been selected solely from the perspective of commercial performance of a nuclear machine in competitive markets." 4/9

"investors are saying 'There's something extraordinarily interesting going on here. It's not cyclical; this is a one-off moment. I want to participate ...' So the access to capital now, because of that tremendous change in sentiment, is really very different than three years ago." 3/9

"the public [market] sector investors are becoming increasingly interested in gaining exposure to the type of massive innovation factors that are now at play in the nuclear tech sector." 2/9

This interview allows Simon Irish, CEO of Terrestrial Energy, to make a maximal financial case for his company. Unlike most CEOs of nuclear-reactor startups, Irish has a background in corporate finance and analysis. This thread collects some of the most interesting quotes. 1/9

Singapore-based Thorcon has completed the "first step" of its permitting process in Indonesia. The company hopes to begin construction of its 500 MWe reactor within two years. The reactor would be built in a shipyard, installed on a floating barge, and towed into place.

Congratulations to the University of New Brunswick on the Grand Opening of their Advanced Nuclear Research Lab. | Moltex Energy Congratulations to the University of New Brunswick on the Grand Opening of their Advanced Nuclear Research Lab. The event was a huge success with attendance from Federal Attorney General Sean Fraser, ...

Moltex further commented that the UNB lab is now the leading facility in Canada for discovering the physical and chemical properties of molten salts--which is necessary for reactor safety evaluation and permitting. Moltex said it was pleased to help support the design of this facility. 2/2

UNB’s CNER opens cutting-edge lab to support Canada’s nuclear energy future This afternoon, the Centre for Nuclear Research (CNER) at the University of New Brunswick (UNB) formally opened their new Advanced Nuclear Reactors Laboratory (ANRL).

Univ. of New Brunswick has opened its Advanced Nuclear Reactors Laboratory to accelerate R&D, technical support, and workforce development. Moltex Energy, a UNB research partner for more than 7 years, noted that the facilities are specifically designed to handle molten salts. 1/2

Joint IAEA-GIF Webinar on Advanced Nuclear Technologies for Maritime Applications Joint IAEA-GIF Webinar on Advanced Nuclear Technologies for Maritime Applications View Presentations and Watch Recording Register here to attend The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the G...

The IAEA/GIF IV webinar has other presentations of interest. Fans of Kirk Sorensen and Flibe Energy will enjoy his speculative concepts for maritime power plants, which are far removed from his company's current development work. 3/3

Conceptual design is now complete, and Saltfoss will begin the formal licensing process in South Korea later in 2025. They plan to start construction in 2030 and start reactor operation in 2032. By the end of the 2030s they aim to have up to 6 gigawatts in operation. 2/3

Esben Klinkby, a VP of Saltfoss Energy (formerly Seaborg Technologies), presents the firm's current status and long-term plans. Their principal product is a floating power barge with low-enriched-uranium molten-salt reactors. They are designing and testing with more than 18 partners worldwide. 1/3

This thread about China's operating thorium molten-salt reactor includes a complete news article translated into English.

The Canadian subsidiary is putting a positive spin on a potential sale and moving ahead with pre-licensing work.

Moltex Canada pushes on with nuclear project as U.K. parent struggles Moltex’s wholly owned Canadian subsidiary is facing complications in its taxpayer-sponsored efforts to construct small modular reactors, or SMRs, in New Brunswick

As for the reorganization, the Canadian CEO is hopeful:

"Rory O’Sullivan ... said the British company’s shareholders would not approve the Canadian subsidiary’s fundraising efforts, effectively stalling them.... 'Really, we are just excited to get new owners in place and get back to business.' "

Moltex Energy Initiates Pre-Licensing Consultation of WATSS Technology with CNSC   - Moltex Energy Moltex WATSS pre-licensing.pdf Moltex Energy Initiates Pre-Licensing Consultation of WATSS Technology with CNSC Saint John, NB, 14 April, 2025 – Moltex Energy Canada Inc. (Moltex) has recently entered...

Even as Moltex Energy faces reorganization and a potential sale to new owners, its Canadian subsidiary is pushing ahead with a pre-licensing agreement with Canadian regulators. Pre-licensing discussions will resolve safety and security issues early, so the permitting process can be streamlined. 1/2

Terrestrial Energy will consummate its relationship with a SPAC to become the world's first publicly traded molten salt reactor company. The deal will provide $280M in funding, which may be used to build the firm's pilot reactor in Brazos County, Texas.