Energy Production Demonstrator and Material Testing Station optimization for Megawatt proton beams

•Energy production and radiation quantities are simulated in the natU, Th, and W targets.•The optimal proton energy range was found to be 2–4GeV.•Thermal analysis indicates that the full absorption models are not feasible due to core meltdown.•A beam steering scheme is proposed to avoid a core meltdown.•With the steering scheme, using a 2.8mA proton beam one can attain a 1-GW output power.