Representatives of Terrestrial Energy and Schneider Electric at the MOU signing ceremony. (Source: Terrestrial Energy)
Terrestrial Energy and Schneider Electric are teaming to deploy Terrestrial Energy's integral molten salt reactor (IMSR) to provide zero-emission power to industrial facilities and large data centers.
The companies signed a memorandum of understanding in April to jointly develop commercial opportunities with high-energy users looking for reliable, affordable, and zero-carbon baseload supply. Terrestrial Energy said that working with Schneider “offers solutions to the major energy challenges faced by data center operators and many heavy industries operating a wide range of industrial processes such as hydrogen, ammonia, aluminum, and steel production.”
Schneider Electric systems automate and optimize energy management for improved performance and efficiency and contribute to the commercial and sustainability goals of its customers, according to Terrestrial Energy.
Quotable: “[Our] value proposition is to leverage digital twin technology across the full IMSR project life cycle and during operations–resulting in a reduction of project time to market and cost as well as more efficient operations,” said Gary Lawrence, president of power and grid systems at Schneider Electric.
Simon Irish, chief executive of Terrestrial Energy, said that Schneider Electric is a supplier with capabilities central to the reliable and efficient operation of IMSR plants. He added, “The IMSR’s use of next-generation fission technology—Generation IV molten salt technology—delivers the transformative improvements in the commercial performance of nuclear energy necessary to meet the fast-growing demand for zero-carbon energy across many industrial applications and markets.”
Licensing: In April 2023, following a systematic and multiyear review by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission concluded, that agency concluded that there were no fundamental barriers to licensing the IMSR plant for commercial use. This was the first-ever regulatory review of a commercial nuclear plant that would use molten salt reactor technology and the first advanced high-temperature fission technology to complete a review of this type.
