Composition of an FCM fuel particle
The FQM Topical Report was reviewed collaboratively by the NRC and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, with the UK’s Office for Nuclear Regulation participating as an observer. This approval confirms the methodology’s compliance with regulatory standards and its scientific reliability, providing a clear path for qualifying advanced fuel for NANO Nuclear’s reactors.
“This is a major victory for advanced nuclear energy and a transformative moment for NANO Nuclear, bringing us closer to turning the promise of KRONOS into a working reality at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I),” said NANO Nuclear CEO James Walker. “With the NRC’s final approval of the FQM Topical Report, we now have the regulatory green light to move forward with the Construction Permit application for the prototype KRONOS. We thank the NRC for their thorough review. This milestone is a critical enabler for our entire reactor programme and affirms the strength of our fuel strategy.”
At the University of Illinois, the KRONOS project is led by Caleb Brooks, Associate Professor at Grainger Engineering and Head of the Microreactor Demonstration Programme. He noted: “Fuel is one of the biggest sources of uncertainty in any advanced nuclear project. This favourable regulatory outcome represents a significant reduction in that uncertainty for our project, and the Safety Evaluation establishes a common language between us and the regulator on how the fuel will be shown, with high assurance, to be safe and effective.”
Florent Heidet, NANO Nuclear’s chief technology officer, outlined the next steps: “Our next steps include finalising fuel fabrication timelines, preparing and submitting the construction permit this year, and completing early-stage site work at U of I, including geotechnical drilling and environmental assessments. We will keep accelerating until the reactor is operating.”
The KRONOS micro modular reactor, designed to produce 45 MW thermal and 15 MW electrical power, is a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor using TRISO fuel in prismatic graphite blocks. Earlier this month, NANO Nuclear and the University of Illinois signed an agreement to build the first research KRONOS reactor on the university’s campus. The reactor will support the university’s green campus initiative by partially replacing its coal-fired Abbott power station, supplying zero-carbon heat and power to campus facilities.
