Several MSR designs are currently under development. While many new designs follow similar principles to the reactors developed in the Molten Salt Reactor Experiment at the US Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the 1960s, such as the salt “freeze plug”, there are also many new ideas to be researched, developed and proven. These include different fuel cycles, different fuel salts and modular designs – which would make it possible for systems and components to be factory-assembled and transported as a unit to a location for installation.
In Canada, a molten salt-based small modular reactor (SMR) concept passed a crucial pre-licensing vendor design review in 2023, the first such review completed for an MSR. Other projects, including in China, Russia and the US, continue to make progress, with the hope that MSRs could begin to see deployment as soon as the mid-2030s.
Read more: What are small modular reactors (SMRs)?
There is four class of MSRs and six main families. You can find out more detail in this Status of Molten Salt Reactor Technology report.
