Solid-state core. Sealed cassette.Two coupled outputs.
TidalCore is a concept-stage high-temperature microreactor study in which the pumped primary loop is replaced by an array of liquid-metal heat pipes, with HALEU TRISO pebbles in a graphite monolith. The architecture targets no primary pumps, minimal coolant inventory, and no on-site refueling. All figures below are modeled design targets subject to independent validation.
One core. Two proposed outputs.No pumped primary coolant.
In the proposed arrangement, heat leaves the TRISO monolith through twelve sodium heat pipes, crosses a compact intermediate heat exchanger, and feeds a sCO₂ Brayton turbine at 5.0 MWe net (~33% net, ~35.5% gross). As a cogeneration option, up to ~6 MWth can go to process heat, with electric output reduced to ~3 MWe. Flow values are modeled design targets.
Heat-pipe primary loop
Sodium-charged stainless heat pipes are proposed to transport ~15 MWth from the fuel monolith to a compact intermediate heat exchanger. The architecture is designed to remove primary pumps, valves, and large coolant inventory, reducing reliance on active loss-of-flow mitigation. Behaviour is modeled and requires independent validation.
HALEU TRISO fuel
Tri-structural isotropic particles at 19.75% U-235, embedded in graphite pebbles inside a graphite block. Each particle acts as its own containment barrier. TRISO fuel has been tested to 1600 °C in the DOE AGR-1/2/5 irradiation campaigns; TidalCore-specific fuel performance has not been qualified.
Sealed factory cassette
The concept assumes the reactor module is fueled and sealed at a licensed manufacturing facility, then shipped to site under 10 CFR 71 transport packaging. The design target is a ~12-year duty cycle after which the cassette is removed and replaced. No manufacturing licence exists today.
sCO₂ Brayton power conversion
A compact supercritical-CO₂ Brayton loop is modeled to convert thermal energy to 5.0 MWe net at a target ~33% net efficiency (~35.5% gross, ~6% house load), avoiding a steam plant, large condenser, and Rankine balance-of-plant footprint. Efficiency is a design target, not measured performance.
Process heat takeoff
A high-temperature secondary loop is proposed to divert up to ~6 MWth of core heat at ~800 °C to an adjacent ammonia synthesis loop in cogeneration mode, with electric output reduced to ~3 MWe. Few NRC-tracked designs today combine this temperature range with a port-side chemistry co-location thesis; the coupling remains an unvalidated study assumption.
Passive decay heat
Reduced-order modeling indicates that loss of all power and heat sinks would settle at a core temperature below the TRISO test limit through radiation and natural convection to the concrete vault. This is a modeled result only and requires independent thermal-hydraulic and safety analysis.
Explore the reactor, layer by layer.
Hardware status — No TidalCore reactor hardware has been built, fuelled, or tested. 15 MWth, ~850 °C, and every other parameter published here are concept targets and study assumptions from reduced-order models, pending independent validation.
Federal and international activity through August 2026 — the IAEA ATLAS initiative and MARAD's agreements with the Port of Long Beach (2026-07-22) and Port of Corpus Christi (2026-08-19) — indicates the port interface is under active public examination. TidalCore is not a party to any of it and claims no endorsement or relationship.
TidalCore is an independent concept-stage development study. It is not a licensed reactor design, no application has been submitted to the U.S. NRC, and no approval, review, or endorsement by the NRC, DOE, USCG, IMO, MARAD, any national laboratory, port, or utility is claimed or implied. All figures are modeled design targets subject to independent validation.
≈19.75% U-235 tri-structural isotropic fuel compacts. Each particle passes DOE AGR-2/AGR-3 qualification for fission-product retention to ≈1600 °C.
Schematic representation for design communication. Not a licensed engineering drawing; dimensions, thicknesses, and layer stack-ups are illustrative.
The primary fission-product barrier. Retains Cs, Sr, Ag to ~1600 °C.
TRISO fuel has accumulated more than a decade of in-pile irradiation data at INL's Advanced Test Reactor under the DOE Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR) program, demonstrating negligible fission-product release below 1600 °C.
Electricity first, heat second.
Electricity-only export (concept target ~5 MWe per module) into a port medium-voltage substation (6.6 kV / 11 kV class) to supply cold-ironing berths and port microgrid loads. The intent is to relieve local grid-upgrade bottlenecks that slow shore-power rollout. Lowest integration complexity; no process-heat users on site.
Only after Phase 1 siting, security and marine-interface protocols exist: route high-temperature heat (concept target ~850 °C) to co-located users such as clean-fuel synthesis or bunkering-related processes. Each heat user adds its own siting, safety and permitting questions.
Both phases are study framing. No port, utility or heat user has been engaged, and no deployment date is claimed.
What a port operator would ask first.
| Module footprint | ~180 m² per module (study assumption) Excludes switchgear, security buildings and laydown. |
|---|---|
| Security & controlled area | To be set by site-specific analysis Standoff and exclusion distances are an open licensing question under Part 53 and NRC security rules — not assumed here. |
| Siting options | Quay-side (on land) or barge-mounted Barge option would need adequate berth water depth and mooring; depth is port-specific. |
| Grid connection | Port MV substation, 6.6 kV / 11 kV class Typical shore-power voltages; exact interface depends on the host port. |
| Crane & berth clearance | Sited outside crane rail and berth operating envelope Placement is a planning assumption to avoid disrupting cargo operations. |
| Natural hazards | Seismic, flooding, storm surge and tsunami screening required No site has been characterised; design-basis hazards are unknown. |
All entries are concept-stage planning assumptions, not a licensed design basis.