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Molten salt reactor technology heats up at ORNL workshop

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Photo 1: Event organizers from the Nuclear Energy Fuel Cycle Division. Credit: Carol Morgan/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy
Event organizers from the Nuclear Energy Fuel Cycle Division. Credit: Carol Morgan/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy
  • The 2023 workshop is the largest in its nine-year history, with nearly 450 professionals from around the sector attending in-person and online from October 25 to 26. 
  • ORNL convenes the flagship annual MSR workshop to explore the diverse approaches of science and industry to further advance MSR licensing and deployment. 
  • Bridging molten salt’s cutting-edge advancements with upcoming commercial and research projects is central to this year’s agenda.

The heat is on at this year’s Molten Salt Reactor Workshop – where top research and industry minds are melding to advance development on molten salt technology – at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.   

Increasingly touted as a promising advanced reactor technology, MSRs owe their origin to ORNL, an historic leader in molten salt reactor research and development. The lab pioneered the first operational MSR projects, the Aircraft Reactor Experiment and the Molten Salt Reactor Experiment during the post WWII era and continues to lead the Department of Energy’s MSR program.

Alison Hahn, Director of Nuclear Reactor Deployment in the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy delivers opening remarks at the Molten Salt Reactor Workshop.
Alison Hahn, Director of Nuclear Reactor Deployment in the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy delivers opening remarks at the Molten Salt Reactor Workshop.

ORNL convened the flagship annual MSR workshop to explore the diverse approaches of science and industry to further advance MSR licensing and deployment.  

Bridging molten salt’s cutting-edge advancements with upcoming commercial and research projects is central to this year’s agenda. Leading researchers at universities and national laboratories shared advancements in recent reactor research and development activities on day one, and day two provided perspective from industry players swiftly moving toward molten salt reactor deployment. 

The workshop also showcased ORNL’s diverse capabilities to support molten salt research and development. Participants will have the opportunity to tour FASTR, or the Facility to Alleviate Salt Technology Risks, a versatile, high-temperature molten salt test facility designed to host a variety of testing approaches, as well as additional laboratories where salt is purified, properties are measured and compatibility tests are performed.

Workshop attendees
Workshop attendees listen to opening remarks from Alison Hahn, Director of Nuclear Reactor Deployment in the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy at the Molten Salt Reactor Workshop on Wednesday, October 25, 2023. Credit: Carol Morgan/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

The 2023 workshop is the largest in its nine-year history, with nearly 450 professionals from around the sector attending in-person and online from October 25 to 26.  

UT-Battelle manages ORNL for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. The Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science – Liz McCrory