The Facility to Alleviate Salt Technology Risks (FASTR) is a versatile, high-temperature molten Cl salt test facility designed to host a variety of testing to advance molten salt technology. The low-melting-point mixture of NaCl, KCl, and MgCl2 has good heat transfer and energy storage potential to support next-generation concentrating solar power, molten salt reactors, and thermal energy storage systems. FASTR includes a salt preparation system and a forced-flow test loop. The facility was commissioned and began its first salt-flowing operations in December 2022. Near-term objectives include demonstration of corrosion and salt chemistry control, followed by heat transfer studies and extended operations.
The Salt Pot Instrumentation and Components Evaluation Experiment (SPICEE) is a high-temperature, two-tank system enabling a variety of molten salt testing. Designed to be flexible, the system can swap between fluoride- or chloride-based salts. The facility also includes several supporting systems in areas such as data acquisition, trace heating, and gas control systems, as well as a suite of temperature and pressure instrumentation.