General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems, the California-based defense and technology company, has finished the conceptual design of a new helium gas-cooled fast reactor, the Department of Energy said last week.
The advanced reactor is one of three early-stage projects supported by the department, DOE said in a Nov. 25 press release.
The General Atomics company is to the point where it can start “maturing” the technology for potential demonstration in the 2030s, according to the DOE release.
General Atomics early work includes fabrication of sample fuel rods for the helium-cooled fast reactor, according to the release. The company envisions a factory-built gas-cooled modular reactor that can generate 44 megawatts of electric power on sites as small as one-fifth of an acre.
General Atomics has submitted design paperwork on its advanced reactor program to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, according to the DOE release. NRC has docketed several pre-applications documents that will be used as references for future formal license applications, DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy said.
General Atomics, which has corporate offices in both San Diego and Washington, D.C., is active in technology ranging from unmanned drones to nuclear fusion, according to its website.