Integral Molten Salt Reactor
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The Integral Molten Salt Reactor (IMSR) is a nuclear power plant design targeted at developing a commercial product for the small modular reactor (SMR) market. It employs molten salt reactor technology which is being developed by the Canadian company Terrestrial Energy.[1] It is based closely on the denatured molten salt reactor (DMSR), a reactor design from Oak Ridge National Laboratory. In addition, it incorporates some elements found in the SmAHTR, a later design from the same laboratory. The IMSR belongs to the DMSR class of molten salt reactors (MSR) and hence is a "burner" reactor that employs a liquid fuel rather than a conventional solid fuel. This liquid contains the nuclear fuel as well as serving as the primary coolant.
In 2016, Terrestrial Energy engaged in a pre-licensing design review for the IMSR with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission[2][3] and entered the second phase of this process in October 2018 after successfully completing the first stage in late 2017.[4][5] The company claims it will have its first commercial IMSRs licensed and operating in the 2020s.