MARVEL End User Application & Utilization

INTRODUCTION

Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC (BEA) Management & Operating Contractor of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) owned Idaho National Laboratory (INL), is seeking an Expression of Interest (EOI) from industry providers to suggest potential tests and experiments leveraging the Microreactor Application Research Validation and Evaluation (MARVEL) demonstration. This will consist of a two-step process starting with a feasibility assessment, then a physical implementation, subject to Congressional Appropriation.

BACKGROUND

The MARVEL will be an operational microreactor and  is expected to serve as a nuclear test bed to demonstrate microreactor operations and end-use applications,  paving the way for unleashing private sector nuclear energy development. A primary goal of the project is to provide a platform that can be leveraged by the private sector to mature novel nuclear technologies and demonstrate innovative new use cases for microreactors. Additional information on MARVEL’s utilization plan can be found in: https://www.osti.gov/biblio/2371820. In short, the MARVEL reactor can be used to the following non-exhaustive list of potential applications:

Demonstrating novel nuclear-generated electricity applications (e.g., nuclear-powered microgrids, or nuclear-powered data-centers)
Demonstrate novel nuclear heat applications (e.g., chemical processing, synfuel production, novel power conversion systems)
Requesting data access (e.g., analyses conducted, documentations, engineering drawings)
Operating the reactor in specific modes to validate models (e.g., conducting a specific transient to benchmark codes)
Deploy advanced instrumentation and control paradigm to nuclear reactors (e.g., semi-autonomous operations, far-field remote operations)
Demonstrate novel safeguards and security paradigms for nuclear technology (e.g., cyber-secure communications, novel safeguard techniques for microreactors)

The current MARVEL scope will consist of developing an...