President Biden’s target of net-zero power generation by 2035 will be extremely challenging, if not impossible, argues Charles Merlin writing for IFRI. He says the best chance of achieving it is through advanced nuclear reactors, though the 2030+ switch-on dates of the new technology still won’t guarantee meeting Biden’s timescales. Why should the U.S. drive for advanced nuclear? Because of the known limitations of the other technologies. Wind … [Read more...]
Convolutional neural networks: facial recognition AI applied to analysis and design of Advanced Nuclear Reactors
Scientists are looking for new ways to predict how materials survive high temperatures, pressures and corrosion levels, and design new materials that can do so. Temperatures can reach 800 Celsius in parts of solar energy plants and advanced nuclear reactors. Dave Bukey at the Argonne National Laboratory looks at research that uses convolutional neural networks – a type of AI – to uncover patterns in huge data sets. The method is over 2,000 faster … [Read more...]
Finland starts excavation of world’s first Deep Geologic Nuclear Waste Repository
Finland’s policy is to dispose of, within its borders, spent nuclear fuel rather than reprocess it. Excavation of a deep geological repository - for final disposal - at Olkiluoto began in May and is a world first. Not even the U.S., with its waste from over 130 nuclear reactors built since the 1950s, has committed to one. James Conca looks at Finland’s history of nuclear waste disposal, how it got to this decision, and the disposal method. The … [Read more...]
Micro-nuclear reactors: up to 20MW, portable, safer
Scientists are working on micro-nuclear reactors that are so small they can fit on the back of a truck or a standard 40-foot shipping container, explains Christina Nunez writing for the Argonne National Laboratory. Deliberately small, generating up to 20MW, they could provide zero-carbon power in remote settings or supplement electrical power grid recovery. Another idea would be to locate them on remote highways for re-charging long distance … [Read more...]
Can the U.S. switch on a Nuclear Fusion plant by 2035?
Momentum is building in the U.S. for the switching on of a nuclear fusion pilot plant by 2035. A report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine lays out for the first time the required technical, economic, and regulatory standards. It comes soon after the prospects for fusion were boosted in January by a government bill that funds fusion activities. Peter Dunn at MIT reviews the report and speaks to the experts. The main … [Read more...]
Washington State (U.S.) bill could make it the home for next generation Nuclear
Nuclear may soon be getting a boost from Washington State in the north-west of the U.S. There, a bill is being presented to promote the manufacture and deployment of new nuclear reactors. It will provide generous tax incentives to nuclear investments in the state. It’s the sort of support that renewable energy technology is used to, yet nuclear struggles to get because of critics of nuclear energy. That opposition is very frustrating, explains … [Read more...]
Nuclear-Wind hybrid plants for grid stability, Power-to-X and more
How would you use a nuclear-wind hybrid plant and maximise its potential? When intermittent wind’s output falls, nuclear can step in to feed the grid. When it’s not doing that it can use its power to run the production of a wide range of commodities: from biofuels, hydrogen, pumped hydro to wastewater purification, desalination, chemical manufacturing and more – including straightforward thermal power for industry. In collaboration with NREL, the … [Read more...]
Nuclear: Does the West’s military need Small Modular Reactors?
The development of small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs), generating up to 300MW, are already getting support for civilian purposes. The military in Russia, China and the U.S. are also interested. It should reduce the reliance on long fuel supply lines, the defence of which costs lives. SMRs would be factory made and delivered on site. But Lukas TrakimaviÄŤius says many difficult questions must be answered before the West commits to this solution. … [Read more...]
Biden’s Green New Deal: bipartisan support should clear a path for Nuclear
President-elect Joe Biden knows that a divided Congress and Senate will make passing most legislation very difficult, not least his sweeping decarbonisation agenda. However, there is one area where both Republicans and Democrats share the same goals, and that is nuclear power. Jennifer Gordon at the Atlantic Council explains why this can clear a path for nuclear while other elements of Biden’s clean energy programme may struggle and even fail. … [Read more...]
Study identifies causes of soaring Nuclear plant cost overruns
Why does nuclear power cost so much when the technology has had decades to get it right? MIT’s David Chandler explains how researchers there have identified the main causes of the cost overruns in the U.S. It turns out that building new plants by copying existing designs actually costs more. That’s because site-specific constraints mean problems are being fixed during construction, adding to costs and delays. New types of concrete are being … [Read more...]
Nuclear Fusion: will super-cable technology bring “inexhaustible” energy supply a step closer?
Nuclear fusion is the process the Sun uses to produce energy. But attempts to replicate that process here on Earth have all needed more energy to run them than they generate (our existing nuclear plants use fission). Now a team led by MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center and MIT spinout company Commonwealth Fusion Systems has developed and tested high-temperature superconductor (HTS) cable technology that can ensure the high-performance magnets … [Read more...]
U.S. Nuclear: change the laws that constrain foreign and domestic investment
Today, Russia and China dominate global nuclear exports and new additions while the U.S. experiences budget overruns and cancellations. Once at the forefront, the U.S. should regain its leadership of nuclear power, argue Matt Bowen, Jennifer Gordon and Jackie Kempfer at the Atlantic Council. To recover its position it first needs to change the laws and policies that constrain its ability to cooperate with allies on nuclear matters, invest in … [Read more...]
ANEEL: Thorium-based reactor fuel could revive Nuclear’s fortunes
A public-private consortium backed by the U.S. DoE is developing a new nuclear fuel – a mix of thorium and uranium – that looks like a major advance on the fuels currently in use, says Jim Conca. Called “Advanced Nuclear Energy for Enriched Life” (ANEEL), it has a very high fuel burn-up rate (55,000 MWd/T) compared to the usual uranium (7,000 MWd/T). That high burn-up reduces the waste by over 80%. Less spent fuel means less refuelling, less … [Read more...]
Russia and U.S. are backing next generation Nuclear
Russia’s Rosatom is positioning itself to lead research and testing for Generation IV fast neutron reactors, including high temperature gas-cooled, molten salt, and lead-bismuth designs. Following an update of plans released by Rosatom in June, Dan Yurman fills in the details. It is creating an International Research Centre and has signed up four partnering nations so far – the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia. The R&D facility … [Read more...]
Nuclear: can Silicon Carbide fuel rod cladding improve safety, performance?
Public concern about the safety of nuclear plants is driving research into ways to make the fuel rods more able to survive the kind of unexpected calamity experienced in Fukushima in 2011. Following the tsunami, hydrogen explosions were caused by the conventional zirconium-based fuel cladding interacting with the high temperature steam produced when the safety system failed and coolant water heated up. Writing for MIT, Leda Zimmerman describes … [Read more...]
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