Small modular reactors (SMRs) are a new generation of nuclear power reactors which generate three hundred megawatts or less. They are being sold as a cheaper and safer alternative to the current big power reactors. They will be build in factories and transported to the site where they will generate energy. The advantage of factory production is supposed to be quality control. However, currently there are several major international scandals involving producers of nuclear technology altering or out-right forging of quality control documents. It is also an open question of whether or not three SMRs will be cheaper than one big gigawatt power reactor.
The Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC) has just signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with X-energy, a U.S. company, to assess the X-energy’s Xe-100 SMR. The Xe-100 is a high temperature gas-cooled pebble bed modular reactor. The Xe-100 is designed to generate two hundred megawatts of electricity. The X-energy plant design calls for four Xe-100s to be bundled together to generate eight hundred megawatts.
The fuel for the Xe-100 consists of “pebbles” containing Triso fuel particles. Each Triso particle consists of a nucleus of uranium oxycarbide (UCO) which has been enriched to ten percent U-235. The nucleus is surrounded by carbon and ceramic layers to contain the radioactivity. The multiple layers enclosing the nucleus function as a sort of independent containment system for each Triso particle. Graphite will surround the particles of Triso to act as a moderator for the nuclear reactions that produce the heat that is converted to electricity. One benefit of a pebble bed reactor is that the fuel cannot melt down.
The chairman of the JAEC said, "The HTR's potential, once implemented, provides Jordan with opportunities that include both electric generation and non-electric utilisation such as water desalination and industrial applications and is the nexus between 3rd and 4th generation technologies."
The CEO of X-energy said, "Delivery of our Xe-100 for electricity, water desalination and other thermal applications in Jordan represents a breakthrough for the advanced nuclear reactor industry. As we work to bring our Xe-100 to markets worldwide, we will continue to create alliances with other potential customers that share the Kingdom of Jordan's goal for clean air, fresh water and energy security. This MoU is a demonstration of our commitment to provide distributed and clean energy solutions to countries like Jordan."
The United States began researching high temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs) in the 1940s at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. X-energy made use of studies by the U.S. Department of Energy in the design of the Xe-100. HTGR demonstration reactors have been build with a variety of designs in Germany, the U.K. and the U.S, Japan, and China.
In January of this year, the U.S. DoE awarded X-energy cost sharing funding of fifty-three million dollars over a five year period to support the work on the Xe-100. X-energy will work in conjunction with BWX Technology, Oregon State University, Teledyne-Brown Engineering, SGL Group, Idaho National Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
In September of this year, X-energy signed an MoU with Centrus, a company that enriches uranium for fuel. The two companies will cooperate to create a Triso fuel fabrication plant to supply fuel for the Xe-100.
In November of 2013, JAEC stated its intention to build several small SMRs which would generate about one hundred and eighty megawatts each. In March of this year, JAEC and Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy signed an agreement to work on a feasibility study for the construction of two SMRs in Jordan. In early November of this year, JAEC signed an MoU with the British Rolls-Royce company to carry out a feasibility study for construction of an SMR in Jordan.
