Invest Alberta supports commercialization of Terrestrial Energy’s Integral Molten Salt Reactor with a focus on reducing emissions in the oil and gas, and petrochemical industries.
Alberta, along with the provinces of Ontario, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan, is working to advance small modular reactor (SMR) technologies through an interprovincial memorandum of understanding it joined in April 2021.
The IMSR plant is a small modular reactor designed for industrial cogeneration as well as high-efficiency, grid-based power generation, and can produce cost-competitive, high-temperature thermal energy with zero greenhouse gas emissions, the company said. It is “ideally suited” for natural resource extraction, low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia production, and many other energy-intensive industrial activities, and has “unique potential” to supply the heat and power needs of activities including those in the Alberta oil and gas, and petrochemical sectors, it added. Already employing more than 100 personnel in its Ontario operation, the company said it anticipates supporting high-quality jobs as it expands its activities in western Canada.
“There is great potential for SMRs to provide zero-emission energy for industrial operations in remote areas and further reduce emissions from Alberta’s oil sands,” Alberta’s Minister of Energy Sonya Savage said. “We’re proud of our industry’s ongoing history of responsible energy development and innovation, and grateful to Terrestrial Energy for supporting job creation and economic growth in Alberta.”
Terrestrial Energy’s IMSR is a 4th generation reactor that uses molten salt as both fuel and coolant, with integrated components, that can supply heat directly to industrial facilities or use it to generate electrical power. It aims to commission the first power plants based on the small modular reactor within a decade. Its IMSR400 configuration, with twin reactors and generators, will mean an overall power plant design with a potential output of up to 390 MWe.
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