US nuke firm partners with PNRI to build ‘research reactor’ in PH

California-based nuclear energy company Valar Atomics is planning to build a “proof-of-concept” small modular reactor in the Philippines in partnership with the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) to scale up atomic energy research in the country as it forays into nuclear power generation.

At the sidelines of EoS Organization’s memoranda of understanding (MOU) signing ceremony with Fulbright Philippines and the Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT) in Makati City last Friday, Valar Atomics Research Institute president Kip Mock said that the reactor will be used for research purposes, and that this is “the first time this type of reactor has been built in the Philippines.”

“It's a micro high temperature gas reactor,” Mock said.

He said that the reactor would be “simply a proof-of-concept” for “future commercial reactors” that would be built in the country.

“It's not going to be connected to the grid… so very, very low energy… We're demonstrating the core physics at a very small scale, so there's extremely low risk,“ he added.

The Valar Atomics official, however, declined to divulge details on the timeline and location of the planned reactor.

“I can't disclose yet, uh, our construction plans… [but] we're going to begin the licensing. We have already begun the licensing process with the PNRI through their regulatory arm and so uh, we will work as quickly as we can, while maintaining all standards of safety safeguards and security,” Mock said.

For his part, Dr. Carlo Arcilla, director of PNRI, welcomed the research collaboration with Valar Atomics alongside EoS.

“This partnership marks a significant step toward energy security and sustainable economic growth,” said Arcilla.

US-based integrated energy solutions firm EoS Organization is supporting the development of civil nuclear energy in the Philippines through research, education, and training of the future workforce in the country's nuclear energy sector.

Valar Atomics’s “proof-of-concept” reactor—in collaboration with EoS, PNRI and the Philippine Nuclear Science Foundation (PNSF)— would serve as a reinforcement in training future nuclear energy professionals in the country.

EoS has extended a P192-million grant to PNSF in support of Valar Atomics’ pioneering reactor model.

“We think that it's really important to develop this technology here and collaborate with the PNRI and PNSF, and local universities… MSU-IIT is the first one, but we hope to bring more Philippine universities into this project and into future projects,” Mock said.

The Valar Atomics official cited the “123 Agreement” between the US and the Philippines which had paved the way for American companies to bring their nuclear expertise and technologies in the country as it ventures into nuclear power generation.

The Department of Energy (DOE) has been saying that the country will have commercially operational nuclear power plants by 2032.

Manila and Washington signed the "123 Agreement" in November 2023, which provides the legal framework for civil and nuclear-related investments, particularly in nuclear power, in the Philippines.

The accord allows the United States to export nuclear technology and material to its Southeast Asian ally. The pact took effect in July last year. — BM, GMA Integrated News