Advanced and Emerging Nuclear Reactor Technologies

This repository contains curated information on advanced nuclear reactors, focusing on Generation III+ and Generation IV designs. The data is structured to be easily parsed and understood, providing a reference for developers, researchers, and AI models.

1. Advanced Nuclear Reactor Designs (Gen III+ & Gen IV)

Tripling nuclear capacity by 2050 will require a combination of proven Gen III+ designs and innovative Gen IV concepts. The primary differences lie in their coolants, fuel types, and operating temperatures, which in turn dictate their applications and power output.

Category	Gen III+	Gen IV (Gas)	Gen IV (Liquid Metal)	Gen IV (Molten Salt)
Coolant	Light water	Gas	Liquid metal	Molten salt
Examples	• Pressurized water reactor • Boiling water reactor	• High temperature gas reactor • Gas fast reactor	• Sodium fast reactor • Lead fast reactor	• Fluoride high temp. reactor • Molten chloride fast reactor
Typical Fuel	LEU, LEU+	HALEU	HALEU	HALEU
Outlet Temp.	~300°C	~750°C	~550°C	~750°C
Power Output	Large, Small	Small, Micro	Small, Micro	Small
Example Designers	• GE Hitachi • Holtec • NuScale • Westinghouse • Last Energy • Deep Fission • Southern Nuclear • Blue Energy	• BWXT • General Atomics • Radiant • X-energy • Antares • Ultra Safe Nuclear Corp	• HolosGen • ARC • TerraPower • Oklo • Aalo Atomics • Blykalla • Newcleo	• Kairos • Terrestrial • Copenhagen Atomics • Moltex Energy • ThorCon • Seaborg Technologies

2. Nuclear Fuel Types

The evolution of reactor design is closely linked to advancements in nuclear fuel.

LEU (Low-Enriched Uranium):

• Enrichment: Typically enriched to 3-5% U-235.
• Use: Fuel for most of the world’s current commercial nuclear reactors.

LEU+ (Low-Enriched Uranium Plus):

• Enrichment: Usually enriched to 5-10% U-235.
• Use: Required by some modern, advanced reactor designs.

HALEU (High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium):

• Enrichment: Between 10-20% U-235 (typically near 19.75% to remain within the low-enriched category).
• Use: Enables smaller, more efficient reactor designs with longer core lifespans, making it the fuel of choice for many advanced and micro-reactors.

3. Emerging Nuclear Reactor Technologies

This table details specific advanced reactor designs currently under development by various companies worldwide.

Company Name	Reactor Name	Reactor Size (MWe)	Expected First Operation	Type of Reactor	Fuel	Proposed Use Case
TerraPower	Natrium	345	2030	Sodium fast reactor	HALEU	Grid-scale power
Moltex Energy	SSR-W (Stable Salt Reactor - Wasteburner)	300	Early 2030s	Molten salt reactor	Spent nuclear fuel	Grid-scale power
General Atomics	EM2 (Energy Multiplier Module)	265	2030s	Gas fast reactor	Spent nuclear fuel	Grid-scale power
ThorCon	ThorCon	500	2029	Molten salt reactor	LEU	Grid-scale power
Terrestrial Energy	IMSR (Integral Molten Salt Reactor)	195	Late 2020s	Molten salt reactor	LEU	Grid-scale power and industrial heat
Kairos Power	KP-FHR	140	2026	Fluoride high temperature reactor	TRISO	Grid-scale power
ARC Clean Energy	ARC-100	100	2029	Sodium fast reactor	HALEU	Grid-scale power
Seaborg Technologies	CMSR (Compact Molten Salt Reactor)	100	2028	Molten salt reactor	LEU	Modular power for remote areas
X-energy	Xe-100	80	2028	High temperature gas reactor	TRISO	Grid-scale power and industrial heat
NuScale Power	NuScale Power Module	77	2029-2030	Pressurized water reactor	LEU	Grid-scale power
Oklo	Aurora	15-50	2027	Gas fast reactor	HALEU	Microgrids, remote power
Aalo Atomics	Aalo-1	10	2026	Sodium fast reactor	HALEU	Various
HolosGen	Holos Quad	3-13	2027	Gas fast reactor	TRISO	Distributed power
Blykalla	SEALER (Swedish Advanced Lead Reactor)	3-10	2030	Lead fast reactor	LEU	Remote power
Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation	Micro Modular Reactor (MMR)	5	2026	High temperature gas reactor	TRISO	Remote power and heat
Westinghouse	eVinci	5	2027	Specialized microreactor type	TRISO	Remote power, defense
BWXT	BANR (Banana River)	1-5	2025	High temperature gas reactor	TRISO	Defense
Radiant Nuclear	Kaleidos	1.2	2028	High temperature gas reactor	TRISO	Portable power, remote locations, defense
Antares	Antares R1	1.5	2027	Specialized microreactor type	TRISO	Defense, austere and remote locations

4. Nuclear Reactor Size Comparison (MWe)

This provides a general overview of reactor sizes, from large-scale power plants to microreactors.

Category	Size Range (MWe)	Example Reactors
Micro (Portable) Reactors	<10 MWe	Westinghouse eVinci (5), HolosGen (3-13), Blykalla SEALER (3-10), Ultra Safe Nuclear MMR (5), BWXT BANR (1-5), Radiant Kaleidos (1.2), Antares R1 (1.5)
Small Modular Reactors	10-100 MWe	Aalo Atomics Aalo-1 (10), Oklo Aurora (15-50), NuScale Power Module (77), X-energy Xe-100 (80), ARC Clean Energy ARC-100 (100), Seaborg Technologies CMSR (100)
Large Custom	>100 MWe	Kairos Power KP-FHR (140), Terrestrial Energy IMSR (195), General Atomics EM2 (265), Moltex Energy SSR-W (300), TerraPower Natrium (345), ThorCon (500)