Bill Gates-Backed Nuclear Reactor Project Has Been Shelved for 2 Years Due to Russia-Ukraine War

TerraPower, a nuclear energy company co-founded by Bill Gates, was supposed to be on its way to building its nuclear reactor and demonstrating its possibilities. That is until Russia invaded Ukraine and war ensued.

The company's first reactor Natrium is set to test its power-generating capabilities by 2028 in Kemmerer, Wyoming. But this plan will now be delayed for two years.

Levesque's Newsletter

In a newsletter sent to subscribers on Wednesday, December 14, TerraPower's CEO, Chris Levesque, revealed that the company had filed a plan to fulfill this deadline, presuming the usage of HALEU (high-assay low-enriched uranium) from Russia for our first core load.

However, the only commercial source of HALEU fuel ceased to be a viable component of the supply chain in February 2022 as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Levesque said that ever since then, TerraPower worked with the Department of Energy (DOE), project stakeholders, and Congressional supporters who have tried looking for other alternative sources for HALEU.

To support HALEU in the end-of-year government funding package, the company is currently negotiating with Congress for $2.1 billion. However, Levesque said that domestic and affiliated HALEU manufacturing options will not be able to reach commercial capacity in time to meet the 2028 plan for Natrium's demonstration.

The CEO claims that they are monitoring the factors that could affect the project's cost and schedule. He noted that they will fully update their schedule next year once they get the results of the Fuel Availability Program's request for proposals and the availability of DOE material for downblending into HALEU.

But because there is no fuel available and no work has begun on new fuel enrichment facilities, TerraPower estimates that it will take at least two years before the Natrium reactor can be put into service.

"Continue as Planned"

"The work slated to begin in Spring 2023 on the large sodium facility will continue as planned, and TerraPower expects minimal disruption to the current projected start-of-construction date," Levesque said in his newsletter.

"We are still planning on a peak workforce of up to 2,000 workers in the mid-2020s and currently have over 800 engineers finalizing plant design and engineering."

Congress has allocated nearly $1.6 billion for the Natrium project, and in 2022, TerraPower received about $830 million in private finance. These resources will be employed to guarantee the completion of the Natrium demonstration plant.

This past fall, TerraPower, and PacifiCorp also made an announcement about a joint feasibility study for the development of up to five more commercial Natrium reactors by 2035.

Levesque said that they will continue working with the DOE, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Congress, business leaders, and local communities to ensure that project will materialize into reality someday.