Indiana partners with First American Nuclear

Newcomer reactor start-up First American Nuclear (FANCO) has partnered with the state of Indiana to develop three projects: its company headquarters, new manufacturing facilities, and a nuclear energy park.

FANCO is aiming to make that energy park the first commercial nuclear facility in U.S. history to operate in a closed fuel cycle.

The project: The technology at the core of FANCO's plans is the EAGL-1 SMR (not to be confused with the European EAGLES SMR). EAGL-1 is a 240-MWe liquid metal fast reactor that uses lead bismuth as its coolant.

According to FANCO, the company frames lead bismuth coolant as the key "game changer" for viable, economic nuclear power, saying that their design does not require complex safety systems, uses one-third less hardware than other SMRs, and can be manufactured and assembled within the existing factory infrastructure and supply chains in the U.S.

The company also said that this design will allow for the continual reprocessing and reuse of spent fuel, which will eliminate 97 percent of nuclear waste.

FANCO's plans for energy generation do not appear to be strictly nuclear. The company has previously stated that the EAGL-1 project "utilizes proprietary integrated natural gas systems to get power online now while simultaneously developing nuclear power capabilities with the same infrastructure."

This newest announcement expanded that fossil fuel overlap further-with FANCO revealing plans to convert existing coal plants into natural gas plants and then, eventually, into nuclear plants.

Indiana Gov. Mike Braun said that FANCO's entrance into the state was set to bring "5,000 high-paying, generational Hoosier jobs while cementing our state as a leader in clean, reliable nuclear power."

The company has not yet provided details on timelines, costs, locations, or the nature of its and Indiana's partnership, though it did specify that the company is establishing its headquarters in Indianapolis.