Copenhagen Atomics to build deconversion facility

Under the agreement, Urenco will help design a dedicated facility for the deconversion of uranium hexafluoride (UF6) into uranium tetrafluoride (UF4) at Copenhagen Atomics' fuel facility in Copenhagen. Copenhagen Atomics will source enriched UF6, convert it into UF4, and synthesise high-purity fuel salts for its own reactors, as well as supply salts to other commercial molten salt reactor (MSR) developers and research institutions.

Molten salt reactors encompass a range of reactor technologies that use molten salt either as both fuel and coolant or solely as a coolant. They operate at low pressure and where the fuel is dissolved in the salt there are the options to refuel and remove contaminants during operation. The salts used are typically fluoride- or chloride-based. They can operate using different fuels, primarily uranium or uranium bred from thorium, and in either a thermal or fast neutron spectrum. Thorium-fuelled molten salt reactors need UF4 as part of their kick starter fuel. Other molten salt reactors also need UF4 as their base-fuel.

"The UF6 deconversion line is an important part of Copenhagen Atomics tonne-scale fuel-salt production facility, the first one in the world," the company said.

"We are very proud that Urenco chose to work with us on this project," said Aslak Stubsgaard, CTO of Copenhagen Atomics. "Establishing this UF4 production line in Copenhagen provides the final missing piece in our supply chain puzzle, enabling full in-house production of reactor-ready fuel salts and supporting the wider advanced nuclear sector."

Iain Roche, Business Development Director at Urenco, added: "This agreement brings together our respective capabilities to develop a novel fuel solution and establish the supply chain required to support its future deployment. It is exactly the kind of long-term collaboration needed to turn advanced reactor technologies into commercial reality."

The Danish company has also purchased low-enriched uranium (LEU) for its first reactors from Urenco.

Copenhagen Atomics is developing a containerised molten salt reactor. Moderated with unpressurised heavy water, the reactor consumes nuclear waste while breeding new fuel from thorium. Small enough to allow for mass manufacturing and assembly line production, the reactor has an output of 100 MWt. Copenhagen Atomics' goal is to deliver energy at a levelised cost of just EUR20 (USD22.4) per MWh.

The company expects its first nuclear test reactor to operate at the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland, with commercial deployment targeted in the early 2030s.

Last month, Urenco signed a memorandum of understanding with the MSR developer Thorizon to examine Urenco's potential role in the molten salt fuel supply chain and how depleted uranium could become a fuel resource for advanced nuclear. The company's molten salt technology may also be able to utilise depleted uranium - a byproduct of uranium enrichment - as fuel for future reactors.