The small team at Energy Process Developments Ltd, which successfully bid for the award of approximately £100,000, is led by Jasper Tomlinson (pictured opposite), Trevor Griffiths and Rory O’Sullivan(who will manage the study).
Jasper Tomlinson and his associates are working to develop wider knowledge throughout industry, the media and the general public of the benefits of MSR technology, which can provide sustainable, affordable power to counteract the global energy poverty crisis.
A long-term water resources engineer with an extensive career in applied science, Tomlinson says the tremendous knowledge growth in the 60 years of the first nuclear era has not seen substantial advances in nuclear fission technology beyond the pressurised water reactor (PWR) – initially a hastily adopted device for military and civil applications – and essentially comprising water cooling of solid fuel elements.
"The imminent second nuclear era requires introduction of inherently more efficient, safer, cheaper, nuclear fission power," he says. This would be obtainable with liquid fuelled technology – namely Molten Salt Reactor – which is the best out of the six Gen IV options, but not currently the option nearest implementation.”
Technology shelved during Cold War
In the 1960s, the molten salt reactor experiment (MSRE) ran for several years at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the USA. It was deemed to be a success, but Cold War military needs effectively shelved the technology and it was not rolled out for civilian use.
“There isn't an MSR currently operating anywhere," Tomlinson adds. "If people could see one, we believe their concept of nuclear power would entirely alter, as they are nothing like the present PWR set-up.”
“The world needs an affordable, safe solution to energy production," says Rory O’Sullivan. "Amongst many advantages, a molten salt fuelled reactor can utilize spent nuclear fuel, be built at a fraction of the cost of a PWR and is passively safe. A positive outcome of our study will be a first step towards commercial realisation of an effective nuclear reactor for electricity production.”
Tomlinson joined the Institutionof Mechanical Engineers a few years ago specifically to introduce members to innovative nuclear technology, and was invited onto the Greater London regional committee to liaise with the Institution of Chemical Engineers. He has delivered lectures about MSR technology to members in Greater London and South Yorkshire. He says he has benefited from networking with other members, and says there is demand and support for information about MSR.
Feasibility study
The feasibility study, aiming to start in September, is designed to provide consolidation of existing research: a significant step towards the installation and operation of a pilot-scale demonstration MSR.
“There is renewed interest in the MSR concept in Japan, Russia, China, France and the USA where proposals and designs from active developers are among those initiatives that may be studied for this project,” says Tomlinson.
“The immediate principal objective is to enable decision makers, media, and the wider public to become aware of key characteristics of molten salt reactor technology. This proposed demonstration reactor can also provide a test bed for helping develop materials and designs for main components and alternative configurations. It could become a training platform; and it would aim to prepare the ground for a full engineering design for the chosen option, to present to potential investors.”
Energy Process Developments Ltd is committed to promoting the benefits of this technology so that MSR may form a key part of the rescue for the diminishing UK energy supply and a cornerstone of the estimated £240bn to be invested in the nuclear sector between now and 2025.