Naomi Cooper
A joint venture led by General Electric and TerraPower have teamed up to construct and operate a Natrium Fuel Facility in Wilmington, North Carolina, to boost the production of advanced nuclear reactors in the U.S.
TerraPower and the Department of Energy’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program will fund the development of the new facility at Global Nuclear Fuel–Americas’ current plant site, representing over $200 million in investments, GE said Friday.
The partnership intends to begin the construction of the Natrium Fuel Facility, which would utilize high-assay low-enriched uranium fuel, in 2023.
“This facility will create a reliable source of fuel for our first demonstration plant and additional Natrium plants in the future,” said Tara Neider, senior vice president and Natrium project director at TerraPower.
In 2020, TerraPower secured $80 million in funding from DOE to demonstrate its Natrium reactor, which works as a sodium-cooled energy storage and power production system.
Moreover, GNF-A and GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy expect to grow their workforce by opening 500 new jobs, 100 of which would be available through the new facility, over the next five years.
The new hires will support the development of Natrium reactor technology and other commercial nuclear power efforts backed by GE.
