Westinghouse’s eVinci microreactor system successfully reached zero-power criticality at a testing facility at the Department of Energy’s Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) this week, the company said.
Westinghouse said in a Tuesday press release that the milestone was achieved at 10:39 p.m. Pacific Time on Monday at the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) facility, the National Criticality Experiments Research Center (NCERC) at NNSS.
Westinghouse completed the core design and model testing of the microreactor’s technology in partnership with DOE’s Idaho and Los Alamos National Laboratories, according to its release.
The eVinci reactor is designed to be a five-megawatt that uses advanced heat pipe technology and will be fueled by tristructural isotropic – or TRISO fuel. The reactor is also designed for space and defense applications with a refueling cycle that allows for the reactor to run 24/7 for eight years without refueling. With initial criticality testing completed, Westinghouse said it plans to conduct further testing to validate the reactor’s ability to be operated and be manufactured.
“This zero-power criticality milestone reflects Westinghouse’s heritage of innovation and pushing to the next frontier of nuclear,” Westinghouse Chief Technology Officer Lou Martinez Sancho said. “We appreciate the support and collaboration of our partners at the U.S. Department of Energy, NNSA, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory and NNSS in achieving this important milestone.”
Earlier this year, Westinghouse and Radiant Nuclear were selected to be participants in DOE’s Demonstrations of Microreactor Experiments (DOME) test bed for their respective microreactor technologies. Radiant is currently the company using the test bed, which has allowed Westinghouse to conduct testing for its reactor elsewhere in the meantime.