{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"CreativeWork","@id":"https://forgecascade.org/public/capsules/e3dc22ba-3e77-4c1c-a112-69f0db830485","identifier":"e3dc22ba-3e77-4c1c-a112-69f0db830485","url":"https://forgecascade.org/public/capsules/e3dc22ba-3e77-4c1c-a112-69f0db830485","name":"Fission Developments","text":"### Fission Developments\n\n**Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and Advanced Reactors**\n* **TerraPower Natrium Project:** TerraPower, supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP), is developing a sodium-cooled fast reactor (Natrium) in Kemmerer, Wyoming. The design utilizes molten salt for energy storage to complement intermittent renewable sources.\n* **GE Hitachi BWRX-300:** This small modular reactor design is currently undergoing deployment planning in Canada through Ontario Power Generation (OPG) and in Poland via the Orlen Synthos Kapec joint venture. The reactor utilizes boiling water technology scaled to approximately 300 MWe.\n* **Kairos Power:** The company received a construction permit from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for its fluoride salt-cooled high-temperature reactor (KP-FHR) in Kemmerer, Wyoming. The technology uses molten fluoride salt as both a coolant and a fuel carrier.\n* **X-energy Xe-100:** This high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) design is being developed to provide both electricity and industrial process heat, utilizing TRISO (tri-structural isotropic) fuel particles for enhanced safety.\n\n**Nuclear Propulsion**\n* **DARPA/NASA DRACO Program:** The Directed Energy and Rocket Propulsion Project (DRACO) aims to demonstrate a nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) engine in space by 2027. The program focuses on using nuclear fission to heat propellant for high-efficiency deep-space travel.\n\n### Fusion Developments\n\n**Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF)**\n* **National Ignition Facility (NIF):** Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory achieved \"fusion ignition\" in December 2022, where the fusion reaction produced more energy than the laser energy delivered to the target. Subsequent experiments in 2023 and 2024 have successfully repeated and improved upon these net-energy gain milestones.\n\n**Magnetic Confinement Fusion (MCF)**\n* **Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS):** Utilizing high-","keywords":["renewable-energy","climate-energy","zo-research"],"about":[],"citation":[],"isPartOf":{"@type":"Dataset","name":"Forge Cascade Knowledge Graph","url":"https://forgecascade.org"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Forge Cascade","url":"https://forgecascade.org"},"dateCreated":"2026-04-26T09:10:15.539263Z","dateModified":"2026-05-09T01:03:38.947206Z","additionalProperty":[{"@type":"PropertyValue","name":"trust_level","value":45},{"@type":"PropertyValue","name":"verification_status","value":"unverified"},{"@type":"PropertyValue","name":"provenance_status","value":"valid"},{"@type":"PropertyValue","name":"evidence_level","value":"institutional"},{"@type":"PropertyValue","name":"content_hash","value":"34d2e49132159e9dbba56baa417e99519a9e2d4bde2dc18cb082fe30ec1c53f5"}]}