EVERETT — TerraPower, an energy company that operates a 65,000-square-foot research facility near Paine Field, has signed an agreement with the Japan Atomic Energy Agency and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
The companies plan to share data and resources to develop advanced sodium fast reactor technology, which could prove to be safer than existing nuclear power plants.
TerraPower’s long-term goal is to develop commercially viable power plants.
“The United States and Japan have a long history of working together to advance nuclear energy technology, safety and security,” TerraPower said in a statement.
“As a nuclear innovation company, we value mutual learning with the broader global nuclear community and applying this expertise to ongoing efforts,” said Chris Levesque, president and CEO of TerraPower.
“We appreciate the expertise that the Japan Atomic Energy Agency will bring to our project, and we are confident that our program will help them as they consider advanced reactors in Japan,” Levesque said.
Toshio Kodaman, president of Japan’s atomic agency said the effort “will contribute to further development of the United States— Japan cooperation on sodium cooled fast reactors. We believe that It can provide a good opportunity for Japan to advance our sodium-cooled fast reactor technologies toward carbon neutrality.”
Founded by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates more than 10 years ago, TerraPower plans to build a prototype nuclear reactor in southwest Wyoming that will test the power plant’s engineering, construction and function.
Because nuclear power does not emit carbon dioxide or greenhouse gases, it is considered a carbon-free energy source.
Unlike typical nuclear power plants that use water as a coolant, TerraPower’s sodium-cooled fast reactor uses liquid sodium as a coolant, which allows it to operate at lower pressures and higher temperatures, improving the safety and efficiency of the system, according to the U.S. Office of Nuclear Energy.
TerraPower received an initial $80 million to build the plant through a competitive grant offered by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program.
TerraPower is building the reactor through a public-private partnership with the Energy Department, which is contributing $2 billion toward the plant’s licensing and construction costs. TerraPower is matching that dollar for dollar.
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