Brenmiller Energy Ltd., a global leader in Thermal Energy Storage (TES) solutions to industrial and utility clients, announced it has signed off on a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ENASCO Ltd. (ENASCO), a nuclear Small Modular Reactor (SMR) project developer expert. The partnership is the next step in Brenmiller growing into the nuclear energy market and follows the announcement recently made by the Company when it said it was coming up with a new iteration of its TES to be customized to the needs of SMR and high-resilience industrial markets.
Within the MoU, Brenmiller and ENASCO are to study, develop, and commercialize integrated solutions that use Brenmiller’s proprietary bGen TES system with advanced Liquid Metal Reactor (“LMR”)-based SMRs. The program aims at improved energy efficiency, operational safety, and flexible systems in the electrical, heating and hydrogen applications.
“In cooperation together with ENASCO, we plan to leverage our complementary capabilities to explore creating a scalable, high-efficiency hybrid platform that answers the energy market’s need for clean and dispatchable baseload power. In the near term, we plan to target the AI data center market, which, according to a McKinsey & Co. report, will account for almost 12% of total power demand in the U.S. by 2030.”
– Doron Brenmiller, Chief Business Officer of Brenmiller Energy.
Market potential and Commercial Roadmap
The international energy agency (IEA) estimates that the SMR capacity can grow to a maximum of 120 GW by 2050 and it will need over 670 billion currency worldwide. The phases of the roadmap include:
- 2026: Seek strategic venture partnership with vendors of SMR and integration tests and pilots with AI data centers
- 2027: First project SMR+TES 2027: Launch first common hybrid SMR+TES project
- 2030: Roll out three commercial-scale initiatives that would have an aggregate target of exploitation of 50 million dollars.
- By 2035: Develop a pipeline of up to 15-20 hybrid projects in Europe and the Americas and up to 650 million possible value
- Strategic Rationale: The Future of Nuclear-Thermal Hybrid Systems enabled
The bGen TM TES system stands out over the core issues of SMR application. In combination with LMRs, which have high operating temperatures (~500-550°C) and low-pressure (low-cold) designs, bGen is also available:
- Enhanced Passive Safety: Will passively help protect SMR event in cases of emergency and sudden shutdowns or grid failure, enhancing SMR safety
- Streamlined Design: No additional steam generators are required, and none are provided redundantly; CapEx is reduced
- Grid Flexibility: Allows load following, time shifting and participation in the ancillary markets
- Scalability: It fits an expansive scope of project scale, from small pilots of 10 h to GWh utility-scale systems.
