Enec and US firm sign Natrium technology deal

4 December 2023

The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (Enec) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with TerraPower, a US-based nuclear innovation company.

Enec and TerraPower will collaborate in the technical design and commercial viability of the TerraPower Natrium technology development in the UAE and the US.

The Natrium technology is co-developed by TerraPower with GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy. It features a cost-competitive sodium fast reactor combined with a molten salt energy storage system.

According to TerraPower, this unique combination "will provide clean, flexible energy and stability, and integrate seamlessly into power grids with high penetrations of renewables".

The technology will be used for clean electricity generation and non-traditional applications "such as green molecule generation, clean hydrogen production and ways to accelerate decarbonisation of energy-intensive sectors through the provision of carbon-free electricity".

The MoU was signed on the sidelines of Cop28 by Ahmed al-Mazroui, Enec nuclear research and development vice-president, and Chris Levesque, TerraPower president and CEO.

Mohamed al-Hammadi, Enec managing director and CEO, Bill Gates, TerraPower chairman, and David Livingston, senior advisor and managing director for energy for the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, witnessed the signing of the MoU.

According to Enec, the two companies will assess ways to optimise the use of the Natrium technology for grid stability through energy storage capabilities.

It added: "The MoU will enable both parties to analyse opportunities to collaborate on engineering, workforce and supply chain development, supporting projects within the UAE with potential secondments of emirati engineers to TerraPower’s headquarters in the US."

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Jennifer Aguinaldo
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