Modeled Time-Consuming Activities and Cost Drivers of the MARVEL Microreactor Project

Identifying the time and cost drivers of the MARVEL project can play a role in determining the pace and extent of microreactor deployment. The main cost drivers and time-consuming activities of the MARVEL prototype reactor were determined using modeled prospective man-hour and cost estimates developed by a manufacturing consulting firm, Munro & Associates. The fuel cost is the largest driver of total modeled costs for the MARVEL project. For example, the triangle subassembly fuel pins, the central hex subassembly fuel pins, and the fuel pin pilot guides account respectively for 47%, 12%, and 12% of the total cost. Other costly parts are the TREAT pit sheets, the beryllium oxide disks, the control drums, and the reflectors. The most time-consuming tasks were also determined. The monthly supplier visits, the TREAT pit installation, and the I&C hours account respectively for 12%, 11%, and 8% of the total man-hours. Other time-consuming tasks include installing control drums, reflectors, shields, reflector supports, and straps, the reactor primary structure weldment, the fuel subassembly plate heat treatment, and the fuel grid plate processing using a milling machine. The uncertainties about the cost or time estimation arise from numerous resources and assumptions. For instance, the fuel costs are based on initial non-specific vendor quotes, and the estimated costs and times are based on a prototype First Of a Kind (FOAK) reactor, not reactors' factory mass production. Moreover, the I&C labor hours and costs are estimated based on the PCAT (assuming that the MARVEL I&C is comparable to the PCAT). Finally, assumptions have also been made about the number of needed supplier visits. It is important to note that this remains an initial analysis of the cost and time drivers in the MARVEL concept. This analysis will be augmented in the future by using more detailed vendor quotes for the fuel and estimating the reactor mass production cost and man-hours. Cost uncertainty will eventually be minimized when the actual post-construction costs are available.