Tata Chemicals/BWXT to explore deployment of nuclear microreactors at US facility

India’s Tata Chemicals Soda Ash Partners has signed a letter of intent with BWXT Advanced Technologies to explore the deployment of up to eight microreactors at its Wyoming, Green River facility in the US.

The two companies have collaborated with one another since September 2023, focusing on investigating the feasibility of using BWXT’s Advanced Nuclear Reactor for electricity and industrial processing at the facility outside of Green River.

According to Tata Chemicals, the letter of intent signed by the two companies agree to expand that collaboration to include development of commercial terms and conditions to purchase microreactors from BWXT and establish a schedule to deploy them by the early 2030s.

The collaboration would also expand to allow the two to determine the “techno-economic parameters” necessary to turn reactor purchase commitments into an energy purchase agreement.

Tata Chemicals sees nuclear power as an important energy to secure sustainable supply chain and provide low-carbon-footprint product.

The companies believe BWXT’s reactors will deliver on-demand electricity and process heat that is carbon free and resilient from external disruptions.

“This LOI is an incredibly positive step forward for the expanding nuclear sector in Wyoming,” Rob Creager, executive director of the Wyoming Energy Authority, said. “As a longtime energy leader, it is crucial for us to continue to bring public-private investments like this to Wyoming. Supporting the trona industry while creating and extending the state’s portfolio of baseload power is a win for everyone.”

Tata Chemicals has been mining and processing trona ore, a mineral that contains soda ash, at Green River since 1968. The Green River facility is located on the ‘mile high’ prairies of southwestern Wyoming, home to the world’s largest reserves of trona ore. Here, more than 60 billion tonnes of trona can be found extending over 1,000 square miles at depths of up to a third of a mile.

The Wyoming manufacturing facility consists of an underground trona mine and a surface refining plant that processes the ore into soda ash. The facility is located about 40 miles west of Rock Springs and 175 miles northeast of Salt Lake City.