ThorCon begins pre-licensing consultation in Indonesia

05 April 2023

PT ThorCon Power Indonesia - a subsidiary of USA-based ThorCon - has signed an agreement with Indonesia's Nuclear Energy Regulatory Agency (Bapeten) to officially start a safety, security and safeguards consultation in preparation for licensing a demonstration 500 MWe floating ThorCon molten salt reactor (TMSR-500).

The signing of the agreement between Bapeten and ThorCon (Image: Bapeten)

"The goal of the consultation is to prepare the regulator, the applicant, and the stakeholders for the formal licensing process and to create a roadmap that contains schedules, roles and responsibilities, applicable laws and regulations, scope and format of the technical and administrative documents in the licence applications, and evaluations of the design readiness," ThorCon said.

The consultation includes: a review of the master plan document for the construction of the TMSR500; consultation on the roadmap related to TMSR500 prototype and the Non-fission Test Platform (NTP) facility; preparation of technical and non-technical documents related to the TMSR500 prototype and NTP required for licensing; and consultation on TMSR500 design approval.

The consultation is expected to take 12 months to complete. ThorCon said it intends to submit licence applications following the conclusion of the consultation.

"This consultation agreement is a major milestone that indicates that the Indonesian government is serious about providing the efficient regulation required to allow for the licensing of nuclear power in a timely and economic manner," ThorCon said.

The company intends to establish an assembly line in Indonesia for its nuclear power plants. It said it is also working with several universities to create programmes regarding molten salt reactor technology. "These activities will not only create a new industry in the national economy, but will also help transform Indonesian power generation into one of the cleanest on the planet," ThorCon said.

ThorCon intends to license, build and operate its first 500 MWe demonstration power plant at Kelasa Island in the Province of Bangka-Belitung by 2029.

According to ThorCon, only 24 months will be required from the start of construction before each plant will be capable of sending electricity to the grid. This approach, it says, also allows for scalability of the ThorCon plants, with as many as 10 GW of power able to be produced annually per shipyard or assembly line once production is ramped up. The estimated cost of a two-unit (1 GWe) plant is USD1.2 billion.

The Indonesian government has committed to implementing an energy transition to reduce climate change and achieve net-zero emissions by encouraging research and development of renewable power generation technologies. The government is targeting 8 GWe of installed capacity to come from nuclear power plants in 2035, increasing to 35 GWe in 2060.

In order to realise this commitment, Bapeten held a Nuclear Power Plant Licensing Executive Meeting in Jakarta on 28 March. The event aimed to kick-off the nuclear power plant licensing process, introduce the 3S (safety, security and safeguards) consultation as a form of service to business actors and coordinate between various stakeholders for nuclear power plant development.

The event was opened by Zainal Arifin, Deputy for Licensing and Inspection at Bapeten. He said: "With the increasing interest in investing in nuclear power plants in Indonesia, it is hoped that we can work hand in hand to oversee or supervise the construction of nuclear power plants and ensure the safety and security of their operations."

Bapeten said it is "committed to supporting the improvement of the investment ecosystem and business activities, especially in the nuclear energy sector". This commitment is realised, it said, by issuing a licensing consultation service policy for the construction of nuclear power plants. This pre-licensing policy provides an opportunity for nuclear power industry players to consult with the regulator regarding the 3S aspects before submitting a licence application to Bapeten.

"It is hoped that through this consultation process, potential nuclear power industry players can prepare the required licence documents in accordance with Bapeten's regulations so that the licensing process runs timely without compromising the above-mentioned 3S aspects," Bapeten said.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News