Germany’s KSB and Canada-based Terrestrial Energy have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to collaborate on the supply of primary pumps for use in the Integral Molten Salt Reactor (IMSR).

The IMSR's primary molten salt pump circulates the fuel salt from the reactor graphite core to the primary heat exchangers. It is a crucial component of Terrestrial Energy’s IMSR  power plant.

“We have many decades of nuclear industry knowledge and experience with technically advanced nuclear-grade pumps, which we will use to develop and supply IMSR molten salt pumps,” said Andreas Hefter, vice president of Nuclear Energy at KSB. “Terrestrial Energy is on a clear path to market, and its IMSR Generation IV advanced nuclear technology has tremendous market potential.”

Terrestrial Energy CEO Simon Irish said: “KSB has been the world leader in nuclear pump technology for more than 50 years. Today, the company is the leading supplier of pumps and other key systems to many of the world’s new power plant projects.”  

The IMSR  primary molten salt pump will be designed to meet the stringent nuclear safety, performance and reliability requirements for IMSR operation.

The MOU between KSB and Terrestrial Energy sets out the framework, timetable and scope of collaboration, including the roles and contributions of each party to IMSR  pump development.

Terrestrial Energy is engaged with regulators and industrial partners to complete IMSR engineering. It aims to commission the first IMSR power plants in the late 2020s.