National and international efforts to develop new sources of carbonfree energy are exploring a nuclear power concept first introduced in the 1950s and 1960s: the Molten Salt Reactor. This design is vastly different from our current light water nuclear power plant and is inspiring a fresh look at the technology.
Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are working on many solutions necessary for the design, construction, and operation of a fullscale molten salt reactor. We have expertise in radiochemistry and realtime online monitoring, as well as materials design and performance testing.