A -- COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE GAS TURBINE MODULAR HELIUM REACTOR

Notice Date

January 31, 2001

Contracting Office

U.S. Department of Energy, Oakland Operations Office, 1301 Clay Street, Room 700N, Oakland, CA 94612-5208

ZIP Code

94612-5208

Solicitation Number

N/A

Point of Contact

Phil Wong, (925) 422-0765/Contract Specialist, Wayne Bryan, (510) 637-1712

E-Mail Address

Click here to contact Contract Specialist (wayne.bryan@oak.doe.gov)

Description

The Department of Energy (DOE) Oakland Operations Office intends to negotiate and award on a sole source basis a one year contract with a one year option to General Atomics (GA) for the planning and implementation of initiatives to develop the Gas Turbine Modular Helium Reactor (GT-MHR) designed by GA for domestic commercial purposes. GA is currently one of the primary participants in a U.S. and Russian international program to advance the GT-MHR technology for its design, demonstration, and implementation in expanding the existing plutonium disposition capacity in Russia. Much of the technology development for a domestic GT-MHR will be derived from this international collaboration. GA will perform work in a number of distinct task areas to initiate the technology development for a domestic GT-MHR. These task areas include, but are not limited to: (1) Commercial Uranium Fuel -- design, development, testing and qualification of commercial uranium fuel (e.g., uranium coated particle fuel fabrication process improvement, uranium coated particle fuel irradiation testing and examination, and uranium core performance analyses); (2) Design and Analyses Status -- identification of unique features or material applications, evaluation of the testing and code qualification programs needed for commercial deployment with these unique features, performing an independent assessment of the public risk associated with use of a confinement system which conceptual assessments have shown to be technically adequate for a uranium fueled core, or other key options; (3) Cost Analysis -- review available cost analyses and update assumptions as appropriate to develop a cost estimate to develop, license and build a U.S. based commercial GT-MHR based on the US-Russian design; and (4) Waste Disposal Assessment -- determination that GT-MHR wastes meets the requirements of a geological repository. In the past, GA has been involved with the research and design of gas cooled reactors, including the GT-MHR. Since 1994, GA has been engaged in an international collaborative effort to develop the conceptual design of a GT-MHR Pu disposition concept reactor. GA's knowledge of the GT-MHR design and experience gained from the GT-MHR plutonium disposition reactor development project are required for the success of domestic GT-MHR development. Furthermore, GA is the only known source that can provide GT-MHR fuel elements for the irradiation experiments planned later this year. See Numbered Notes 22 and 26!!

Record

Loren Data Corp. 20010202/ASOL005.HTM (W-031 SN50C414)