Bacteria Breakthrough Could Simplify Rare Earth Element Processing

By Brian Westenhaus - Jun 17, 2023

• The research from Penn State discovered a new method of separating rare earth elements using bacterial protein, which has a unique ability to distinguish between different rare earths.
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• The bacterial protein was isolated from a specific type of bacteria found naturally in English oak buds and showed a strong capability to differentiate between lighter and heavier rare earth elements.
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• This discovery could lead to more efficient, environmentally friendly mining and recycling practices for the tech sector, fundamentally changing how critical minerals like rare earths are harvested and purified.

Penn State scientists have discovered a new mechanism by which bacteria can select between different rare earth elements. That is using the ability of a bacterial protein to bind to another unit of itself, or ‘dimerize,’ when it is bound to certain rare earths, but prefer to remain a single unit, or ‘monomer,’ when bound to others.

The research paper reporting the discovery has been published in the journal Nature.

Penn State researchers have discovered a protein found naturally in a bacterium (Hansschlegelia quercus) isolated from English oak buds exhibits strong capabilities to differentiate between rare earths. Harnessing its power could revolutionize the entire tech sector by fundamentally changing how critical minerals like rare earths are harvested and purified. Image Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

The discovery is important because rare earth elements, like neodymium and dysprosium, are critical components to almost all modern technologies, from smartphones to hard drives, but they are notoriously hard to separate from the Earth’s crust and from one another.

By figuring out how this molecular handshake works at the atomic level, the researchers have found a way to separate these similar metals from one another quickly, efficiently, and under normal room temperature conditions. This strategy could lead to more efficient, greener mining and recycling practices for the entire tech sector, the researchers state.

Joseph Cotruvo Jr., associate professor of chemistry at Penn State and lead author of the paper said, “Biology manages to differentiate rare earths from all the other metals out there – and now, we can see how it even differentiates between the rare earths it finds useful and the ones it doesn’t. We’re showing how we can adapt these approaches for rare earth recovery and separation.”

Rare earth elements, which include the lanthanide metals, are in fact relatively abundant, Cotruvo explained, but they are what mineralogists call “dispersed,” meaning they’re mostly scattered throughout the planet in low concentrations.

“If you can harvest rare earths from devices that we already have, then we may not be so reliant on mining it in the first place,” Cotruvo said. However, he added that regardless of source, the challenge of separating one rare earth from another to get a pure substance remains.

“Whether you are mining the metals from rock or from devices, you are still going to need to perform the separation. Our method, in theory, is applicable for any way in which rare earths are harvested,” he said.

All the same — and completely different

 In simple terms, rare earths are 15 elements on the periodic table – the lanthanides, with atomic numbers 57 to 71 – and two other elements with similar properties that are often grouped with them. The metals behave similarly chemically, have similar sizes, and, for those reasons, they often are found together in the Earth’s crust. However, each one has distinct applications in technologies.

Conventional rare earth separation practices require using large amounts of toxic chemicals like kerosene and phosphonates, similar to chemicals that are commonly used in insecticides, herbicides and flame retardants, Cotruvo explained. The separation process requires dozens or even hundreds of steps, using these highly toxic chemicals, to achieve high-purity individual rare earth oxides.

“There is getting them out of the rock, which is one part of the problem, but one for which many solutions exist,” Cotruvo said. “But you run into a second problem once they are out, because you need to separate multiple rare earths from one another. This is the biggest and most interesting challenge, discriminating between the individual rare earths, because they are so alike. We’ve taken a natural protein, which we call lanmodulin or LanM, and engineered it to do just that.”

Learning from nature

Cotruvo and his lab turned to nature to find an alternative to the conventional solvent-based separation process, because biology has already been harvesting and harnessing the power of rare earths for millennia, especially in a class of bacteria called “methylotrophs” that often are found on plant leaves and in soil and water and play an important role in how carbon moves through the environment.

Six years ago, the lab isolated lanmodulin from one of these bacteria, and showed that it was unmatched – over 100 million times better – in its ability to bind lanthanides over common metals like calcium. Through subsequent work they showed that it was able to purify rare earths as a group from dozens of other metals in mixtures that were too complex for traditional rare earth extraction methods. However, the protein was less good at discriminating between the individual rare earths.

Cotruvo explained that for the new study detailed in Nature, the team identified hundreds of other natural proteins that looked roughly like the first lanmodulin but homed in on one that was different enough – 70% different – that they suspected it would have some distinct properties. This protein is found naturally in a bacterium (Hansschlegelia quercus) isolated from English oak buds.

The researchers found that the lanmodulin from this bacterium exhibited strong capabilities to differentiate between rare earths. Their studies indicated that this differentiation came from an ability of the protein to dimerize and perform a kind of handshake. When the protein binds one of the lighter lanthanides, like neodymium, the handshake (dimer) is strong. By contrast, when the protein binds to a heavier lanthanide, like dysprosium, the handshake is much weaker, such that the protein favors the monomer form.

“This was surprising because these metals are very similar in size,” Cotruvo said. “This protein has the ability to differentiate at a scale that is unimaginable to most of us – a few trillionths of a meter, a difference that is less than a tenth of the diameter of an atom.”

Fine-tuning rare earth separations

 To visualize the process at such a small scale, the researchers teamed up with Amie Boal, Penn State professor of chemistry, biochemistry and molecular biology, who is a co-author on the paper. Boal’s lab specializes in a technique called X-ray crystallography, which allows for high-resolution molecular imaging.

The researchers determined that the protein’s ability to dimerize dependent on the lanthanide to which it was bound came down to a single amino acid – 1% of the whole protein – that occupied a different position with lanthanum (which, like neodymium, is a light lanthanide) than with dysprosium.

Because this amino acid is part of a network of interconnected amino acids at the interface with the other monomer, this shift altered how the two protein units interacted. When an amino acid that is a key player in this network was removed, the protein was much less sensitive to rare earth identity and size. The findings revealed a new, natural principle for fine-tuning rare earth separations, based on propagation of miniscule differences at the rare earth binding site to the dimer interface.

Using this knowledge, their collaborators at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory showed that the protein could be tethered to small beads in a column, and that it could separate the most important components of permanent magnets, neodymium and dysprosium, in a single step, at room temperature and without any organic solvents.

“While we are by no means the first scientists to recognize that metal-sensitive dimerization could be a way of separating very similar metals, mostly with synthetic molecules,” Cotruvo said, “this is the first time that this phenomenon has been observed in nature with the lanthanides. This is basic science with applied outcomes. We’re revealing what nature is doing and it’s teaching us what we can do better as chemists.”

Cotruvo believes that the concept of binding rare earths at a molecular interface, such that dimerization is dependent on the exact size of the metal ion, can be a powerful approach for accomplishing challenging separations.

“This is the tip of the iceberg,” he said. “With further optimization of this phenomenon, the toughest problem of all – efficient separation of rare earths that are right next to each other on the periodic table – may be within reach.”

A patent application was filed by Penn State based on this work and the team is currently scaling up operations, fine-tuning and streamlining the protein with the goal of commercializing the process.

Other Penn State co-authors are Joseph Mattocks, Jonathan Jung, Chi-Yun Lin, Neela Yennawar, Emily Featherston and Timothy Hamilton. Ziye Dong, Christina Kang-Yun and Dan Park of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory also co-authored the paper.

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This is definitely exciting work, important and worthwhile. The rare earth elements are essential for the continued growth of much of the high tech economy and are also used as political weapons. Breaking out from today’s circumstances is crucial for many industries and their products.

Yet for now, this technology is in the discovery phase. It is a very long way to commercial scale. But it is so important and the amount of capital and cash flow at stake is sure to drive this technology along.

Let's not overlook the amazement factor here. This technology is using organic compounds to do what has been the province of inorganic compounds. One might hope that not only will the rare earth elements become more available and sensibly priced, the processing might be much more environmentally friendly.

By Brian Westenhaus via New Energy and Fuel

Completion of German waste repository delayed

15 June 2023

Work to convert the former Konrad iron ore mine into Germany's first repository for low and intermediate-level radioactive waste (LLW/ILW) is running about two years behind schedule, according to the country's federal radioactive waste company, Bundesgesellschaft für Endlagerung (BGE). The repository will not be completed in 2027 as planned, it said.

An aerial view of the Konrad 2 site (Image: BGE)

The Konrad mine - in Salzgitter, Lower Saxony - closed for economic reasons in 1976 and investigations began the same year to determine whether the mine was suitable for use as a repository for LLW/ILW.

In 2002, the Lower Saxony Ministry for the Environment issued a planning approval decision for the Konrad repository. Following multiple legal proceedings, this approval was confirmed by the Federal Administrative Court in 2007. A construction licence was issued in January 2008.

In April 2017, BGE assumed responsibility as the operator of the Asse II mine and the Konrad and Morsleben repositories from the Federal Office for Radiation Protection.

The Konrad mine is being converted for use as a repository under the supervision of BGE. The two mine shafts are being renovated and equipped with the necessary infrastructure underground. Among other things, this infrastructure includes transport galleries and the emplacement areas at a depth of around 850 metres. Above ground, construction work is under way on new buildings, including the reloading hall.

BGE said on 13 June that construction activities for the Konrad repository were well advanced, but there were "still some hurdles to overcome".

It noted all new buildings at Konrad 1 - the conventional part of the repository through which workers and material are brought underground and out again - have now been constructed. All underground cavities necessary for the operation of the repository have also been excavated and the underground expansion is almost complete.

At Konrad 2 - where waste will be accepted and transported underground - the construction of the storage shaft is currently on schedule. However, in a reassessment of the remaining construction work, BGE has concluded that the work is about two years behind schedule. "The completion of the Konrad repository in 2027, which has been assumed since 2017, can no longer be achieved," it said.

BGE said there were three main reasons for the delay at Konrad 2. Firstly, BGE needed longer to redesign the contractual relationships with the general planners than expected when it was founded. The general planners draw up the plans for the buildings and facilities on Konrad 2 on behalf of BGE. Secondly, following the March 2011 accident at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi plant, safety requirements for nuclear facilities in Germany were improved. This also applies to the safety requirements for protection against earthquakes. BGE said it underestimated the task of incorporating the higher safety requirements into the execution planning of all buildings and entailed special efforts for all those involved. Thirdly, it said the implementation planning for all structures is based on the approval for the Konrad repository. In many cases, the planning is accompanied by nuclear approval procedures. These procedures have taken longer than scheduled, BGE said.

The final disposal of up to 303,000 cubic metres of LLW/ILW at Konrad is set to begin in the early 2030s.  This waste represents 95% of the country's waste volume, with 1% of the radioactivity. At present, this waste is stored above-ground in interim storage facilities at more than 30 locations in Germany. Once within the Konrad repository, the containers will be immobilised with suitable concrete and securely sealed off during emplacement operations. Once operations are complete, all cavities of the mine will be backfilled and sealed in a manner that ensures long-term safety.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News

Operating permit issued for Chinese molten salt reactor

15 June 2023

The Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics (SINAP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has been granted an operating licence for the experimental TMSR-LF1 thorium-powered molten-salt reactor, construction of which started in Wuwei city, Gansu province, in September 2018.

A cutaway of the TMSR-LF1 reactor (Image: SINAP)

"The thorium-fueled molten salt experimental reactor operation application and related technical documents were reviewed, and it was considered that the application met the relevant safety requirements, and it was decided to issue the 2 MWt liquid fuel thorium-based molten salt experimental reactor an operating licence," the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said in a 7 June statement.

The NNSA noted that, when operating TMSR-LF1, SINAP "should adhere to the principle of 'safety first', abide by the regulations of the operating licence and permit conditions, and ensure the safe operation" of the reactor.

Construction of the TMSR-LF1 reactor began in September 2018 and was scheduled to be completed in 2024. However, it was reportedly completed in August 2021 after work was accelerated.

In August last year, SINAP was given approval by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment to commission the reactor.

The TMSR-LF1 will use fuel enriched to under 20% U-235, have a thorium inventory of about 50 kg and conversion ratio of about 0.1. A fertile blanket of lithium-beryllium fluoride (FLiBe) with 99.95% Li-7 will be used, and fuel as UF4.

If the TMSR-LF1 proves successful, China plans to build a reactor with a capacity of 373 MWt by 2030.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News

Canadian approvals milestone for drone delivery of radioisotopes

16 June 2023

Drone Delivery Canada has received authorisation for Beyond Visual Line-of-Sight flights and for the transportation of dangerous goods, which the company says is a significant milestone in the development of its Care by Air project to transport medical radioisotopes by drone. The project is the first of its kind within Canada.

Drone Delivery Canada hope to revolutionise deliveries in the healthcare segment (Image: DDC)

Transport Canada - the Canadian federal department responsible for most of the transportation policies and regulations on behalf of the Government of Canada - has approved Drone Delivery Canada to conduct Beyond Visual Line-of-Sight flights in the Golden Horseshoe/Southern Ontario area while transporting Class 7 dangerous goods. The flight authorisation means Drone Delivery Canada's drones will be able to operate beyond the visual range of operators, expanding the reach and capabilities of their autonomous fleet, while achieving a significant improvement in operational efficiencies, the company said.

The company's procedures, practices and personnel have been audited by both the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) and Transport Canada to ensure that the strict safety requirements needed both to operate Beyond Visual Line-of-Sight (BVLOS) flights and to transport medical radioisotopes have been met. These authorisations will allow Drone Delivery Canada to further support the healthcare industry by delivering time-sensitive and life-saving products with increased speed and reliability, the company said.

Drone Delivery Canada has worked in collaboration with McMaster University - a producer of the medical isotope iodine-125 - DSV Canada Inc, Air Canada Cargo, Halton Healthcare and the Oakville Trafalgar Hospital to develop the Care by Air project, a 13.4 kilometre commercial route for the transportation of medical radioisotopes by drone. The project's first test flight demonstration, using Drone Delivery Canada's Sparrow drone, took place in October 2022.

All operations will be conducted in accordance with CNSC regulations, Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations, the Canadian Aviation Regulations and Transport Canada special flight operations certificates, Drone Delivery Canada said.

"With BVLOS flights and dangerous goods transportation authorisation, we can now take a giant leap forward in transforming the way healthcare supplies are transported, ensuring faster delivery times and enhancing overall patient care," CEO of Drone Delivery Canada, Steve Magirias, said.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News

Russian export push for floating nuclear power plants

16 June 2023

State nuclear power company Rosatom has signed an agreement with TSS Group to create a joint venture for the construction of a series of floating power units "with a capacity of at least 100 MWe and an assigned service life of up to 60 years for foreign markets and the subsequent sale of electricity from the floating power unit in the countries of presence".

(Image: Rosatom)

The aim is to follow this framework agreement with legally and financially binding documents in the future. The fleet will use RITM-200M reactors, derived from those used on Russia's latest nuclear-powered icebreakers.

The agreement says that "as target markets, the partners consider the countries of the Middle East, southeast Asia, and Africa. Energoflot is expected to be put into operation in the period from 2029 to 2036".

Andrey Nikipelov, deputy director general for mechanical engineering and industrial solutions for Rosatom, said people within Russia and elsewhere had been studying its floating power plant development "with great interest" and they were now able to "offer the market a whole family" of floating power units with a range of power and uses and suitable for conditions ranging from the Arctic to tropical climates.

He said: "In addition to environmental friendliness and stable operation, floating nuclear power units are able to provide energy independence - both from the main power grids, and in a broader sense - protection from the volatility of energy markets ... floating power units have great commercial potential both in Russia and abroad ...  and will create better living conditions for people and help economic development in different regions of the world."

Sergey Velichko, chairman of TSS Group, an oil and gas construction and engineering specialist, said the need for low-carbon energy generation was "becoming more and more urgent in the world - customers need a stable, economically predictable and sustainable source of energy". He added that floating nuclear power plants can meet that need and "allows the client to receive as much energy as he needs and in what place" and is "an investment in a future that is more environmentally friendly and predictable for us and our children".

Rosatom is already in the process of constructing four floating power units for the Baimskaya ore zone which highlights floating nuclear power plants' ability to be transported to hard-to-reach areas. It said: "In countries with developing economies, affordable energy is the key not only to the dynamic development of industry but also a factor in the growth of the well-being of the population."

Construction began last August, at a Chinese shipyard, of a barge that will later be fitted with two RITM-200M reactors for the first of the four floating nuclear power plants for the Cape Naglounyn project which will power the mining development at Baimskaya in the Russian Arctic. It will supply 103 MWe but, as the development requires 300 MWe, three are needed, with a fourth to be installed as backup for refuelling and maintenance.

Russia already has one floating nuclear power plant, the Akademik Lomonosov, which is stationed at Pevek where it supplies heat and power to the town. This is based on two KLT-40S reactors generating 35 MWe each, which are similar to those used in a previous generation of nuclear powered icebreakers. So-called 'modernised floating nuclear power plants' like the ones for Cape Nagloynyn feature reactors from the new RITM series, as used in the latest generation of icebreakers. RITM units can also be used on land and a single-reactor plant is planned for Ust-Kuyga in Russia's far east.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News

IAEA's Grossi 'learned a lot' from Zaporizhzhia visit

16 June 2023

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said it was important to "see with my own eyes" the water supply situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant after leading the latest rotation of agency experts to the plant where they will be stationed.

There is sufficient water at the plant for cooling for months (Image: IAEA)

The IAEA team had to cross the frontline between Russian and Ukraine controlled areas on foot to reach, and later return from, what is Ukraine's and Europe's largest nuclear power plant. Grossi said his visit, which lasted a matter of hours was "compact, but was important for me because it concentrated on the situation as a consequence of the destruction of the dam".

He was able to see the water levels of the reservoir, the canal and inlets and the cooling ponds at the plant itself and discuss with plant managers the "contradictory" readings there appeared to have been at times since the Nova Kakhovka dam was damaged earlier this month.

(Image: IAEA)

Grossi also said he was able to visit the nearby Zaporizhzhia thermal power plant, which the IAEA has been seeking to visit for a number of weeks, to see the switchyard which could help improve the security of power supplies to the plant, which is currently relying on one external high voltage line.

Speaking during the visit on Thursday, he said: "What is essential for the safety of this plant is that the water that you see behind me stays at that level ... with the water that is here the plant can be kept safe for some time. The plant is going to be working to replenish the water so that safety functions can continue normally."

Answering media questions, he said that it was not realistic in the current conflict to expect the two sides to sign a formal agreement on nuclear safety measures for Zaporizhzhia, but said that there had been political agreement at the United Nations Security Council - including from Russia and Ukraine - on the five basic safety principles he outlined, which include not firing on the nuclear plant, not firing from the nuclear plant and not using it as a military base.

He said that the expanded IAEA team of experts stationed at Zaporizhzhia will be monitoring compliance with those principles, adding: "The IAEA is not going anywhere, we are staying and I will be back here."

In a message on Twitter posted after he left the plant, Grossi added that "we believe we have gathered a good amount of information for an assessment of the situation".

A destroyed bridge means part of the journey was on foot (Image: IAEA)

The team climbing up a slope (Image: IAEA)

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been under the control of Russian forces since the start of March 2022. Five of the six reactors are in cold shutdown and one is in "hot shutdown" which means it can continue to produce heating for the plant and the nearby homes in Energodar. The State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine has said that the last reactor should also be put into cold shutdown for safety reasons, but Russia's Tass news agency quoted Renat Karchaa, advisor to the director general of Russia’s Rosenergoatom nuclear power engineering company, as saying "these demands cannot be justified from a legal or technological point of view".

The news agency also quoted Rosatom Director General Alexei Likachev as saying that in-person talks "with the IAEA are planned next week, the date and venue are being agreed".

Researched and written by World Nuclear News

How Nuclear Power Can Dethrone King Coal

By Robert Rapier - Jun 17, 2023

• The report from the U.S. Department of Energy suggests that about 80% of retired or active coal plant sites in the United States could be converted to host advanced, small-scale nuclear reactors.
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• Conversion from coal plants to nuclear power could result in savings up to $1 billion over the plant's lifetime and reduce emissions by up to 90%.
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• Despite challenges related to cost, construction time, and regulatory issues, conversion from coal to nuclear power has the potential to retain workforces, stabilize the economy, and help the United States achieve its climate goals.

Over the past 15 years, the United States has undergone a significant transition away from coal-fired power plants. This transition is being driven by several factors, including environmental regulations, competition from natural gas, and the declining cost of renewable energy.

As coal-fired power plants are retired, there is a need for reliable and affordable zero-emission power replacements. To date, a large fraction of coal’s displacement has come from natural gas. Although it is cleaner than coal, natural gas is still a fossil fuel and therefore has associated greenhouse gas emissions.

Renewables sources like wind and solar power are scaling rapidly, but there are several challenges in using them to displace coal-fired power.

First, these sources tend to be decentralized, and require a lot of area for the power they produce. Second, these sources are intermittent, and therefore will require a lot more nameplate capacity to displace the same capacity from a coal-fired power plant. Certainly, these renewable sources will continue to grow in importance, but in the short-term, we can’t expect coal-fired power plants to be replaced with intermittent renewables.

However, nuclear power is a viable option for meeting this need. Nuclear power is a clean, dispatchable source of energy that can provide baseload power to the grid.

The report “Investigating Benefits and Challenges of Converting Retiring Coal Plants into Nuclear Plants” was released in 2022 by the U.S. Department of Energy. The report estimated that approximately 80% of retired or active coal plant sites in the United States are suitable to host advanced reactors smaller than the gigawatt scale.Related: Russia’s Year-Round Arctic Trade Route Initiative

The authors noted that converting coal plants to nuclear power could save money and reduce emissions. The report estimates that converting a coal plant to nuclear power could save the plant owner up to $1 billion over the lifetime of the plant, and that converting a coal plant to nuclear power could reduce emissions by up to 90%.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) published its own report on the potential for the displacement of coal-fired power in November 2022. The report, Coal in Net Zero Transitions, examines the role of coal in the global energy transition and identifies strategies for reducing coal-related emissions in a way that is rapid, secure, and people-centered.

The IEA report finds that coal is the largest emitter of energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2), accounting for 15 billion metric tons in 2021. Coal is also the largest source of electricity generation, accounting for 36% in 2021.

The report identifies three main pathways for reducing coal-related emissions:

• Rapid phase-out of unabated coal power: This pathway involves phasing out all coal power plants that do not capture and store their emissions by 2030. This pathway would require significant investment in clean energy technologies, but it would also deliver the largest emissions reductions in the shortest time.
• Gradual phase-out of unabated coal power: This pathway involves phasing out unabated coal power plants over a longer period, such as by 2040. This pathway would require less investment in clean energy technologies than the rapid phase-out pathway, but it would also deliver smaller emissions reductions.
• Continued use of coal with carbon capture and storage (CCS): This pathway involves using CCS technology to capture and store the emissions from coal power plants. CCS technology is still under development, but it has the potential to significantly reduce coal-related emissions.

The report finds that the rapid phase-out of unabated coal power is the most effective way to reduce coal-related emissions. Nuclear power is expected to play a key role in replacing coal-fired electricity generation. In the IEA’s Announced Pledges Scenario (APS), over 30 countries have shown interest in expanding nuclear capacity, with global capacity additions expected to average 18 GW annually from 2026 to 2030 triple the recent average of 6 GW from 2017 to 2021.

While China leads the market – accounting for almost 40% of all new nuclear capacity to 2030 — other countries such as France, India, Poland, the United Kingdom, and the United States have announced support or plans to invest in new nuclear projects. The APS expects an average of 20 GW of nuclear capacity to be added each year from 2030 through 2050, including small modular reactors that offer lower upfront costs and improved safety and waste management features.

There are certainly challenges and opportunities associated with converting coal plants to nuclear power. The biggest challenge is the cost and time to build new nuclear power plants. Some regulatory hurdles need to be overcome to convert coal plants to nuclear power. However, converting coal plants to nuclear power could help retain work forces at coal plants, stabilize the economy, while helping the United States meet its climate goals.

By Robert Rapier

US regulators conclude Hermes safety review

16 June 2023

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued its Final Safety Evaluation Report (FSER) for Kairos Power's application to build the Hermes molten salt test reactor at a site in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The company says it expects to receive a construction permit for the first-of-a-kind reactor later this year.

How the KP-FHR could look (Image: Kairos)

NRC's evaluation concludes that there are no safety aspects that would preclude issuing a construction permit for the reactor and comes after the agency's independent Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards provided the results of its review, recommending that the construction permit for the Hermes demonstration reactor be approved.

Kairos submitted its permit application in two parts, in September and October 2021, but the company began extensive pre-application engagement with the NRC in 2018. The NRC accepted the Hermes CPA for review in November 2021, committing to an accelerated 21-month review timeline, and has completed it in 18 months - well ahead of schedule, according to Andrea Veil, director of the NRC's Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. "This reflects the NRC's commitment to maintaining safety, by applying risk-informed approaches, while improving efficiency," she said.

"We are pleased to have worked closely with the NRC staff to complete a thorough, efficient, and innovative review, which is encouraging for future deployment of advanced nuclear reactors," said Kairos Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Peter Hastings. "We look forward to continuing our close collaboration with the staff and the Commission to support the Final Environmental Impact Statement and complete the mandatory hearing."

Kairos is taking a "rapid iterative" approach to development, which the company says reduces risk on the path to commercialisation and establishes confidence for build and construction. The company will have to submit a separate application in the future for an operating licence. It said the Hermes construction permit application is laying the groundwork for this application which will, in its turn, generate lessons to inform the license applications for future commercial deployments.

Hermes will be a 35 MW (thermal) non-power version of the company's fluoride salt-cooled high temperature reactor - the KP-FHR, which uses TRISO (TRI-structural ISOtropic) fuel pebbles with a low-pressure fluoride salt coolant. The demonstration reactor has been selected by the US Department of Energy to receive USD629 million in cost-shared risk reduction funding over seven years under the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program, and is intended to provide operational data to support the development of a larger version for commercial deployment.

A site at the East Tennessee Technology Park in Oak Ridge has been selected for the demonstration reactor, and TRISO fuel pebbles will be produced at the Los Alamos National Laboratory's Low Enriched Fuel Fabrication Facility under an agreement announced in late 2022. The company has also commissioned a plant to produce high-purity fluoride salt coolant - known as Flibe - in partnership with Materion Corporation. The Molten Salt Purification Plant, in Elmore, Ohio, has now shipped its first batch of the coolant to Kairos Power’s testing facility in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to support Engineering Test Unit (ETU) operations, the company said in a separate announcement.

Centrus HALEU plant receives regulatory clearance

15 June 2023

The US nuclear fuel and services company Centrus has completed its operational readiness reviews and received regulatory approval to possess uranium at its Piketon, Ohio site and introduce uranium into the cascade of centrifuges it has constructed there. The company said it remains on track to begin production of high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) at the plant before the end of the year.

The Piketon centrifuge cascade (Image: Centrus)

Centrus began construction of the demonstration cascade of 16 centrifuges in 2019 under contract with the US Department of Energy (DOE), and last year secured a further USD150 million of cost-shared funding to finish the cascade, complete final regulatory steps, begin operating the cascade, and produce up to 20 kg of HALEU by the end of this year. The operational readiness reviews were required under the Centrus licence from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), which was amended in 2021 to allow the Piketon facility to produce HALEU.

HALEU fuel contains uranium enriched to between 5% and 20% uranium-235 - higher than the uranium fuel used in light-water reactors currently in operation, which typically contains up to 5% uranium-235. It will be needed by most of the advanced reactor designs being developed under the DOE's Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program. But the lack of a commercial supply chain to support these reactors has prompted the DOE to launch a programme to stimulate the development of a domestic source of HALEU.

"Centrus continues to meet every contract milestone on time and on budget, putting us in position to pioneer US HALEU production to meet the needs of the department and the nuclear industry," said Centrus President and CEO Daniel Poneman. "By establishing a secure, reliable American source of HALEU, we can help enable the commercialisation of a whole new generation of US-designed advanced nuclear reactors to supply the carbon-free energy the world needs."

Construction of the cascade and most of the support systems is now complete, and initial testing has been completed, Centrus said. Next steps will be the construction of the on-site HALEU storage area and final testing activities prior to operation, with initial HALEU production set to begin by the end of the year.

Centrus has previously said it could scale up the Piketon facility for expanded HALEU production, subject to sufficient funding or offtake contracts. A full cascade of 120 individual centrifuge machines, with a combined capacity of approximately 6,000 kilograms of HALEU per year, could be brought online within about 42 months of securing funding, according to the company.

USA plants continue to rely on foreign sources of uranium supply

15 June 2023

US nuclear plant owners and operators purchased less uranium in 2022 than in 2021, and at a higher price, according to the US Energy Information Administration's (EIA) latest annual uranium marketing report. Most of the uranium delivered in 2022 was of foreign origin, with Canada and Kazakhstan together providing more than half the total.

US uranium purchases continue to be dominated by foreign suppliers (amounts are thousands of pounds U3O8e) (Image: EIA)

The EIA's 2022 Uranium Marketing Annual Report, published on 13 June, provides detailed data on uranium marketing activities in the USA from 2017 to 2022, and summary data back to 2001. The information is based on data collected through the EIA's Uranium Marketing Annual Survey - known as Form EIA-858 - which collects data on contracts, deliveries, enrichment services purchased, inventories, use in fuel assemblies, feed deliveries to enrichers, and unfilled market requirements for the next 10 years.

The 40.5 million pounds U3O8 equivalent (15,578 tU) total uranium purchased by the owners and operators of the USA's civilian nuclear power reactors in 2022 was 13% down on 2021's total of 46.7 million pounds U3O8e. The weighted average price of USD39.08 per pound for 2022's purchases was 15% higher than the 2021's weighted average price of USD33.91 per pound, and the highest since 2016.

Most of 2022's uranium deliveries were of foreign origin, with Canada the top source at 27% of total deliveries, followed by Kazakhstan (25%), Uzbekistan (11%) and Australia (9%). US -origin material accounted for 5% of the total. Some 15% of the uranium delivered was purchased under spot contracts at a weighted average price of USD40.70 per pound, with the rest under long-term contracts at a weighted average price of USD38.81 per pound.

A total of 35 million pounds U3O8e of natural uranium feed was delivered to enrichers, with 41% of the feed going to US enrichment suppliers, and some 14.2 million SWU of enrichment services purchased by US plant owners and operators in 2022. Nearly three-quarters of this - 73% - was from foreign-origin SWU. Some 3.4 million SWU was supplied by Russia - only slightly less than the 3.9 million of US-origin SWU purchased in the year.

At the end of the year, total US commercial uranium inventories (including inventories owned by plant owners and operators, brokers, converters, enrichers, fabricators, producers and traders) stood at 140 million pounds U3O8e, down 1% from the 141.7 million pounds total at the end of 2021. Contracted deliveries and unfilled market requirements represent maximum anticipated market requirements of 402 million pounds U3O8e over the next 10 years for plant owners and operators, the report found.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News