NRC approves TerraPower's construction permit for the first Natrium plant

TerraPower/Natrium (Kemmerer Unit 1)

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved a construction permit for Kemmerer Unit 1 in Wyoming, the first commercial Natrium reactor. It is the NRC's first commercial reactor approval in nearly a decade and the first for a commercial non-light-water reactor in more than 40 years.

• Unit: a 345 MWe sodium-cooled Natrium reactor with molten-salt storage that can raise output to 500 MWe.
• The review ran about five months ahead of its original plan, though the NRC's end-2025 decision goal was missed by three months.
• Construction was to start within weeks; completion is targeted for 2030, three years behind the original DOE target.
• A separate Part 50 operating license application from US SFR Owner is still needed before the plant can run.
• The project sits in DOE's Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program, which planned $3.2 billion across its projects.