NEXT Lab

Next-Level Research. Advancing the Future.

Imagine a world with cleaner and safer energy, with pure and abundant water, and a world where new treatments for cancer mean more lives are saved. By advancing the technology of molten salt reactors, researchers at ACU’s NEXT Lab are creating innovative solutions to some of the world’s most critical problems.
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Imagine a world with cleaner and safer energy, with pure and abundant water, and a world where new treatments for cancer mean more lives are saved. By advancing the technology of molten salt reactors, researchers at ACU’s NEXT Lab are creating innovative solutions to some of the world’s most critical problems.

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What’s NEXT?

NEXT, which stands for Nuclear Energy eXperimental Testing Laboratory, is experimenting with using molten salts, rather than water, as a coolant for nuclear reactors with the goal of designing and building the first university-based molten salt research reactor.

As students and faculty work together seeking creative solutions to complex problems, the next generation of leaders in nuclear science and engineering are gaining real-world experience. In the process, they are seeing firsthand how their innovation and collaboration can impact the world.

NRRA: Working Together for Progress

ACU is leading NRRA – the Natura Resources Research Alliance – among four universities with extensive experience in physics, chemistry and engineering. Launched in Spring 2019, the consortium’s goal is to design, license and commission the first university-based molten salt research reactor, which ACU will host and own. Other members of the consortium are Georgia Institute of Technology, Texas A&M University, and The University of Texas at Austin.

Sponsored by Natura Resources

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ACU Box 28208
Abilene, TX 79699
Email: next@acu.edu

Nuclear Energy eXperimental Testing (NEXT) Lab was founded at ACU to perform research into molten salts and their uses in nuclear energy.

Then principal deputy secretary for nuclear energy Edward McGinnis visited the NEXT Lab and encouraged the development of a molten salt research reactor. NEXT received several major grants, bringing their funding to over $5 million.

The Natura Resources Research Alliance was formed with 3 other universities (Texas A&M, UT, and Georgia Tech). NEXT visited the DOE and presented a plan to build the Molten Salt Research Reactor (MSRR).

Natura Resources, LLC, was founded and began sponsoring the research of the Natura Resources Research Alliance (NRRA). The NEXT Lab received its first patent.

The Natura Resources Research Alliance (NRRA) was recognized by the Texas Senate and House of Representatives for advanced nuclear research. U.S. Senator Ted Cruz toured the NEXT Lab.

A construction permit application for the first deployment of the Natura MSR-1, a 1 megawatt thermal molten salt reactor system, was submitted to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on August 15, 2022.

ACU’s Dillard Science Engineering and Research Center opened in September 2023. It includes a 6,000-square-foot research bay with a deep shielded trench, a 40-ton crane, specialized ventilation and enhanced electrical power to support a wide variety of research and development needs, including the construction of the MSRR.

The NEXT Lab was awarded its second patent.

The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission granted ACU a construction permit on September 16, 2024, marking the first liquid salt fueled reactor licensed by the NRC in American history and the first U.S. university research reactor approved in more than 30 years. The Molten Salt Test System was successfully flowed salt, and two more patents were awarded.

An Operating License will be submitted to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

The Molten Salt Research Reactor, the first deployment of the Natura MSR-1, will go critical on the campus of Abilene Christian University.