Huntsville, AL August 8, 2022– Teledyne Brown Engineering (TBE) has been contracted to perform Front End Engineering Design services for a Molten Salt Research Reactor (MSRR) to be constructed at Abilene Christian University (ACU) as part of the Nuclear Energy eXperimental Testing (NEXT) laboratory.
TBE is the Prime Contractor to ACU, providing preliminary design services (develop designs, sizes, specification, and estimated costs) for the MSRR. “This partnership will enhance progress to further advanced reactor development programs and support MSRR technologies,” stated TBE President, Scott Hall. Once TBE has completed preliminary design and engineering studies in the initial contract, follow-on work will include detailed design, reactor and systems manufacturing, site integration, and installation. ACU plans for the MSRR to achieve criticality by December 2025.
Molten Salt Reactors (MSR) are a class of nuclear fission reactors in which the coolant and/or fuel is a molten salt mixture. There are currently two MSRs successfully operating as research reactors, both in the United States. The Purpose of the MSRR is to significantly expand salt reactor research and development infrastructure. The installation will be a world class educational pipeline to support US molten salt reactor design, development, deployment, and market penetration.
ACU has contracted the work, which is funded by Natura Resources, LLC. The MSRR conceptual designs have been co-developed by the Nuclear Energy eXperimental Testing Research Alliance (NEXTRA), which is composed of four Universities and led by the NEXT Lab at ACU. Site construction has begun at ACU as of June 2022.
About Teledyne Brown Engineering
Teledyne Brown Engineering, Inc. is a full-spectrum engineering and advanced manufacturing company with operations in the United States and the United Kingdom. The company provides engineering services, engineered systems and manufactured products to the space, defense and energy markets. Teledyne Brown provides full lifecycle development from concept definition to production and operations. The company has a rich heritage in developing complex systems for space, missile defense, energy and other challenging markets and has more than 600,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing space. Find out more about Teledyne Brown Engineering at
www.tbe.com.
About Teledyne Technologies
Teledyne Technologies is a leading provider of sophisticated instrumentation, digital imaging products and software, aerospace and defense electronics, and engineered systems. Teledyne Technologies' operations are primarily located in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Mexico. For more information, visit Teledyne Technologies' website at
www.teledyne.com.
