Columbia Basin Consulting Group, based in Kennewick, Wash., is developing a lead bismuth-cooled fast reactor concept. With new funding from the Department of Energy, they will draw on nearby Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's extensive experience working with liquid metal-cooled fast reactors as well as its knowledge of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's licensing processes.

DOE's Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear — or GAIN — voucher program provides advanced nuclear technology innovators with access to the extensive nuclear research capabilities and expertise available across the DOE national laboratories.

PNNL will provide technical guidance to CBCG, which was selected along with 13 other small businesses, to receive vouchers worth a total of approximately $4.2 million to accelerate innovation in advanced nuclear reactor technologies. This is the second year of the voucher funding. CBCG and PNNL successfully partnered in a similar project supporting CBCG's lead-bismuth initiative in the first round of funding last year.

This project focuses on developing criteria for the design of reactor containment structures. Unlike the current fleet of reactors that operate a high pressures, , the lead bismuth cooled fast reactor being developed by CBCG would operate at near atmospheric pressure and has many additional inherent safety features. Therefore, the regulatory criteria for containment buildings associated with the current reactor fleet may not be appropriate for this new design. PNNL is helping CBCG conduct analyses for consideration by the NRC as the agency develops regulatory infrastructure for the licensing of the next generation of reactors.

Read more about the GAIN voucher program.

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