SAFARI: Secure Automation For Advanced Reactor Innovation

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Program:
GEMINA
Award:
$5,194,982
Location:
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Status:
ACTIVE
Project Term:
03/15/2021 - 03/14/2024
Website:

Technology Description:

The University of Michigan will develop physics-based, model-centric, and scalable capabilities, data-enabled via AI-enhanced algorithms, to achieve unprecedented integrated state awareness for advanced reactor power plants. Individual modules include (1) a scalable digital twin that combines different scales and different fidelities as needed; (2) a maintenance proactive evaluator to monitor usage and assess the health conditions and maintenance needs of advanced reactors; (3) an operations intelligent controller to achieve autonomous control during normal and accident conditions; and (4) an O&M deep supervisor to supervise O&M conditions. The team will first validate the product using a molten salt loop operating at the University of Michigan and apply it to the Kairos Power fluoride salt-cooled high temperature reactor design to demonstrate how the proposed capability can be used to aid and optimize the plant design; optimize sensor location; provide autonomous control, including load following; and allow for predictive maintenance.

Potential Impact:

The program goal is to reduce fixed O&M costs from ~13 $/MWh in the current fleet to ~2 $/MWh in the advanced fleet. Benefits include:

Security:

Establishing U.S. advanced reactor technological leadership and improving U.S. energy security with safe, reliable, dispatchable power for a robust and resilient electric power system;

Environment:

Reducing energy-related emissions with a competitive, carbon-free electricity source; and

Economy:

Increasing productivity and creating a competitive edge for advanced reactors.

Contact

ARPA-E Program Director:
Dr. Jenifer Shafer
Project Contact:
Prof. Annalisa Manera
Press and General Inquiries Email:
ARPA-E-Comms@hq.doe.gov
Project Contact Email:
manera@umich.edu

Partners

Argonne National Laboratory
Idaho National Laboratory

Related Projects

• Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) - Maintenance of Advanced Reactor Sensors and Components (MARS)
• Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) - Build-to-Replace: A New Paradigm for Reducing Advanced Reactor O&M Costs
• Framatome - Digital Twin-Based Asset Performance and Reliability Diagnosis for the HTGR Reactor Cavity Cooling System Using Metroscope
• General Electric (GE) Global Research - AI-Enabled Predictive Maintenance Digital Twins for Advanced Nuclear Reactors
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - High-Fidelity Digital Twins for BWRX-300 Critical Systems
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Generation of Critical Irradiation Data to Enable Digital Twinning of Molten-Salt Reactors
• Moltex Energy - SSR APPLIED - Automated Power Plants: Intelligent, Efficient, and Digitized
• University of Michigan - SAFARI: Secure Automation For Advanced Reactor Innovation
• X-Energy - Advanced Operation & Maintenance Techniques Implemented in the Xe-100 Plant Digital Twin to Reduce Fixed O&M Cost

Release Date:
10/02/2019