Lead-cooled fast reactor SMR integration: An off grid study case based on a real-life demand

This paper analyses the integration of a specific type Small Modular Reactor (SMR), namely a Lead-cooled Fast Reactor (LFR), along with storage and conversion units, to power an off-grid, energy-intensive industrial site, with both heat and electricity demands.

Despite the partial load-following capability of the LFR-SMR and its integration with a thermal energy unit, significant seasonal fluctuations in industrial energy demand make the LFR-SMR alone inappropriate to ensure continuous year-round supply adequacy. To address this limitation, additional storage and energy conversion units are required.

Accordingly, we evaluate the technical and economic performance of three configurations designed to meet the combined heat and electricity demands over the full year. The first incorporates a lithium-ion battery; the second integrates hydrogen production and storage; and the third builds upon the second by also incorporating ammonia as an additional energy carrier. Each configuration is optimally sized and operated to minimise system cost.

Our results show that an LFR-SMR can operate off-grid in all configurations. The reactor, along with its thermal storage, effectively manages minor fluctuations in energy demand, while the conversion and storage units are primarily used during peak consumption periods that exceed the reactor’s maximum output. Solutions based on synthetic fuels prove to be significantly more cost-effective than the battery-based approach, with a slight advantage for the ammonia-based configuration. For the latter, we estimate the heat cost of €25/MWh and an electricity cost of €59/MWh. The additional units enabling off-grid operation represent less than 4% of the total cost.