The Origins and Current State of FLiBe Research at U.S. Department of Energy Facilities

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The Origins and Current State of FLiBe Research at U.S. Department of Energy Facilities

Annalyn Jensen1, Sergey Tolmachev2, Josef Sobieraj3, Chris Dorn4

1University of Utah, 2Washington State University, 3National Nuclear Security Administration, 4Be4FUSION

FLiBe is a mixture of lithium fluoride (LiF) and beryllium fluoride (BeF2), which can be used as a molten-salt coolant or part of the fuel in fission reactor applications. In molten salt reactors, FLiBe salts are used as coolants and breeder materials due to their stability in high temperatures and favorable heat transfer characteristics. The push for sources of renewable, clean energy over the past decade has spawned significant investment both in improved fission power (e.g., Small Modular Reactors), and in a commercial fusion industry, which is determined to get fusion power onto the grid in a relatively short timeframe. This presentation chronicles FLiBe research and investment from its origins with the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) up to the present day at United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE) facilities. This presentation expands upon previous FLiBe chronologies by UC Berkeley and by the Beryllium Health and Safety Committee (i.e., Chapter 14 of A Practitioner's Guide to Beryllium Hazard Management, 2nd edition).

FLiBe research originated at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in the 1940s during a heavy period of federal funded activity under the AEC. This activity culminated in the Molten Salt Reactor Experiment (MSRE), which operated from 1965 to 1969 and established a legacy inventory of FLiBe that remains relevant today. After MSRE shutdown and AEC cancelation in the 1970s, FLiBe activity slowed down. However, collaborations between universities and DOE national laboratories were initiated in the 1990s, representing an expansion beyond ORNL. For example, the collaboration between UC Berkeley and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) shifted research focus into fusion chamber…