Anglo-Canadian company Moltex Energy has launched what it says is a nuclear fission reactor powered by salt, with the aim of protecting consumers from surging energy bills, without damaging the environment and resorting to fossil fuels.
The FLEX technology has the flexibility of gas-fired power stations but generates electricity at a cheaper price and without emitting carbon, the company said as it looks to raise Series A funds for further development.
Its scientists made a nuclear reactor that utilises "molten salt technology" in an unprecedented way, while it is also simple in design and operation.
This is achieved through a patented system that uses two molten salts, one acting as a fuel and the other circulating as a coolant.
It then allows the heat from the FLEX reactor to be extracted through natural convection, without the need for pumps, the Warrington and New Brunswick company said, which operates as MoltexFlex in the UK.
The reactor has the ability to respond to alterations in energy demand – returning rapidly to full power or entering a low-activity state – making it the perfect accompaniment to wind or solar.
“We recognised the need for an energy supply that can support renewables when the sun doesn’t shine or the wind doesn’t blow. In the FLEX reactor, we have a solution for consumers and countries alike,” David Landon, chief executive, commented.
Moltex said it would take two years to build a 500-megawatt power plant, while the cost of electricity generated by the reactor is similar to that of wind – approximately £40 per megawatt-hour.
Each reactor can power up to 40,000 homes and is the size of a two-storied house.
The company added that its small footprint and short construction time make it ideal for meeting changing energy needs, which is to be widely expected throughout the next decade.
Ian Scott, chief scientist, and John Durham co-founded Moltex in New Brunswick in Canada in 2012.
In total Moltex Energy has so far raised investment of around £14mln with the majority at the most recent valuation of around £120mln.
In 2019 it raised £6mln through the Shadow Foundr crowdfunding platform, with nearly half of that figure contributed by around 170 investors in the first crowdfunding campaign for nuclear fission in the world.
Last year it received C$50.5mln from the government of Canada’s Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) and Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) and opened a new lab in Birchwood, near Warrington in north-west England, in 2021.
Investment has supported development of two complimentary but, in market terms, distinct nuclear technologies.
The global rights those two technologies have now been transferred to two subsidiary companies, Moltex Energy Canada Inc and UK-based MoltexFLEX Ltd for further development.
The two subsidiaries have now launched their separate Round A funding processes seeking investment to progress their respective businesses to the next level.
The investors in Moltex Energy Ltd are a mixture of high-net-worth individuals, a European company with energy interests and IDOM, a global nuclear engineering company headquartered in Spain.
In addition to the investment from Moltex Energy Ltd, Moltex Energy Canada has received major support from Canadian nuclear operator NB Power and from the Canadian Federal and provincial governments totalling around C$60mln plus circa US$7m from the US Department of Energy.
It has signed a strategic alliance with SNC Lavalin, a global engineering company with extensive nuclear expertise headquartered in Canada.
The newly formed MoltexFLEX ltd is at an earlier stage of development but seeks to replicate the success of Moltex Energy Canada Inc in building solid government and institutional backing for its new business.