Heretofore little-known Abilene Christian University (ACU), located in west Texas, made history on September 16 when the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued its Nuclear Energy eXperimental Testing Laboratory (NEXT Lab) a construction permit for the deployment of the Natura Resources MSR-1 system’s liquid-fueled advanced nuclear research reactor.

ACU president Phil Schubert said that issuance of the construction permit moves the university “one step closer to making that a reality. The performance-driven approach of Natura Resources to advanced reactor deployment has quickly moved them from a relative unknown to a leader in the upstart advanced reactor industry.”

“This is the first research reactor project we’ve approved for construction in decades, and the staff successfully worked with ACU to resolve several technical issues with this novel design,” Andrea Veil, director of the NRC’s Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, said in a news release.

The NEXT Lab, under the direction of ACU engineering and physics professor Dr. Rusty Towell, had been experimenting with using molten salts, rather than water, as a coolant. Under Towell’s leadership, ACU has become known for sending its undergraduate physics students to national laboratories to conduct research alongside world-renowned scientists.

Natura founder and president Douglass Robison, upon learning of Towell’s work in molten salt research, donated $3.2 million to the NEXT Lab through his nonprofit Excelsior Foundation. Robison later formed Natura Resources LLC and committed to investing another $30.5 million for the molten salt reactor project, with $21.5 million going to ACU and the rest going to........

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