Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. The NEXT Lab at ACU has joined three other universities – The Georgia Institute of Technology, Texas A&M University and The University of Texas at Austin – to form NRRA, the Natura Resources Research Alliance. The NRRA is working to design and build a university-based advanced molten salt research reactor (MSRR), which will be housed in the Dillard Science and Engineering Research Center on ACU’s campus. 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.  

These universities* have research reactors and established engineering programs, including nuclear engineering, as well as doctoral and post-doc researchers. 

*Georgia Institute of Technology, Texas A&M, and the University of Texas

Research and test reactors are small reactors used for research, testing and training purposes; for example, read about the National Organization of Test, Research and Training Reactors. Currently, the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission licenses 31 research reactors. ACU’s Molten Salt Research Reactor (MSRR) is the first U.S. university research reactor approved in more than 30 years.

The MSRR will be safer and more efficient than the current generation of nuclear reactors. The technology NEXT Lab has been developing for several years will use salt that is heated and melted into a liquid phase (molten salt) and not water as the coolant. Unlike water, molten salt does not become a gas until it reaches over 1400° C, so the reactor core does not have to be built to operate at high pressures. This avoids both the cost and danger associated with a pressurized water reactor.

The NRRA is working under a research agreement sponsored by Natura Resources to design and build a university-based advanced molten salt research reactor.

NEXT Lab has received additional funding from the U.S. Department of Energy.

The goal is for the reactor to be operational by the end of 2026. 

There are 31 nuclear research testing facilities across the U.S. Three are in Texas, including one in Austin at The University of Texas’ Pickle Research Park, built in the 1980s. Massachusetts Institute of Technology has one on campus in the heart of Greater Boston. ACU’s molten salt research reactor (MSRR) is the first U.S. university research reactor approved in more than 30 years.

Abilene Christian has a long pedigree of working with other top research universities in the field of nuclear physics. ACU is leading this consortium because it has the most experience working with molten salt; its consortium partners have experience with research reactors. Together, it’s a natural collaboration of individual experts coming together to reach a common goal.

The university’s Department of Engineering and Physics has nearly four decades of experience in national laboratories such as Brookhaven, Fermi and Los Alamos, where ACU undergraduate students have the rare opportunity to work alongside their professors and other physicists from around the world. Some of the top groundbreaking discoveries in physics in recent years were made possible by important contributions to testing and research by ACU faculty, undergrads and alumni.

ACU’s mission of educating students for Christian service and leadership throughout the world infers responsible stewardship of all kinds, including of the environment. The benefits of molten salt reactors will result in cleaner energy and water, and the development of medical isotopes for treating cancer – world-changing advancements that will further demonstrate ACU’s continuing contributions to the fields of science and technology. The university also believes strongly in the value of student engagement and experiential learning to enrich its students’ academic experience.

ACU is a respected teaching and research institution, especially in the sciences. The MSRR will provide even greater access for students and faculty to collaborate on leading-edge research.

The MSRR will be housed in ACU’s Dillard Science Engineering and Research Center (SERC), which opened in September 2023. The SERC includes a 6,000-square-foot research bay with a deep shielded trench (25 feet deep and 80 feet long), a 40-ton crane, and specialized ventilation and enhanced electrical power to support a wide variety of research and development needs, including the construction of the MSRR.

The NRC staff issued the environmental assessment for the MSRR with a finding of no significant impact (FONSI) – a determination that environmental effects of the MSRR are not detectable or so minor that they will neither destabilize nor noticeably alter any important attribute of the surrounding resources.

The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), which also reports to the Environmental Protection Agency, issued a construction permit on September 16, 2024. The reactor will also require an operating license from the NRC.

The U.S. Department of Energy has already expressed a strong interest in the project, and sent representatives to campus to visit the NEXT Lab.

Low-enriched uranium-235 is the nuclear fuel required (not high-enriched uranium used by the military). It is only available through the U.S. Department of Energy.

Molten salt reactors cannot explode because they are not operated at high pressure, unlike water reactors, which must use high pressure to keep water from flashing to steam at extremely high temperatures. Molten salt will still stay in a liquid state, even at extremely high temperatures, so they can operate at atmospheric pressure. Additionally, a thermal explosion cannot occur because the reactor is designed to shut down on its own as temperature increases.

It’s impossible for a molten salt reactor to cause a nuclear explosion and release harmful radiation. Other research reactors at universities have been safely located in urban areas for years, such as those in Boston (MIT) and Austin (The University of Texas).

No. A coal-fired electrical plant emits far more radioactive material than a nuclear research reactor. See a review by Oak Ridge National Lab.

The MSRR will be the first liquid fueled MSR in the nation. It will employ dozens of high-level professionals and staff while attracting hundreds of related jobs to the area in business and research. Even more university students will be drawn to an already world-class program.