What will next-generation nuclear reactors offer safe and clean power?
The
Bold New Nuclear Reactor Designs Promise Safe, Clean Electricity.
https://www.city-journal.org/next-generation-nuclear-power
If all goes as planned, sometime in 2021, drilling of a huge hole will begin in eastern Idaho, USA. The hole is dug not far from Atomic City in Idaho, where the town has less than 30 inhabitants. The only gas station in the region is no longer selling gas. Atomic City flourished in government-funded nuclear research projects in the 1950s and 1960s, developing a nuclear power plant to power nuclear submarines and a nuclear power plant. It has been done.
The boom in the town has already diminished, and most of the reactors developed in the town are no longer in operation. Nevertheless, the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is working on the development of state-of-the-art next-generation reactors under the supervision of the Department of Energy and will be built in Atomic City. Regarding INL's next-generation reactor development project, City Journal said, 'It will be a unique reactor that operates at unimaginable high temperatures and is cooled using helium gas or liquid metal instead of water.' Nuclear power plants using next-generation nuclear reactors are safe enough to be built in the immediate vicinity of cities, and are so efficient that they can supply society with almost unlimited clean electricity. '' You.
In the United States, nuclear power plants supply 20% of the country's electricity, but most of the reactors in operation at the time of writing adopted conservative water cooling designs that became industry standards by the 1970s And in fact many reactors were built in the 1970s. The US nuclear infrastructure is solid and reliable, but 'not state-of-the-art,' according to the City Journal. Nuclear power plants are also 'necessarily economically competitive,' as fracking water lowers the price of natural gas and huge government subsidies for renewable energy, such as wind and solar power. Not necessarily, 'says the City Journal. It seems natural that some of the old nuclear power plants will be closed.
In contrast, a nuclear power plant that INL plans to build in the desert near Atomic City, Idaho will not have the same dome shape as an existing nuclear power plant. When constructing a regular nuclear power plant, the construction of the power plant can take several years of labor. On the other hand, the next-generation reactor that INL will construct simply requires transporting the one manufactured at a factory in Virginia as it is. Workers only need to connect various components of the reactor at the power plant, the size of the completed reactor is about 15 feet (about 4.6 meters) wide and about 75 feet (about 22.9 meters) high and very compact. Done.
Compact reactors manufactured at Virginia factories are called small modular reactors (SMRs). The SMR adopted for INL's nuclear reactor development project was invented by Jose Reyes, a former nuclear engineering professor at Oregon State University, which was launched after leaving Oregon State University in 2007. Was developed by a startup called
NuScale Power-The Future of Energy-YouTube
The SMR developed by NuScale Power can generate 60 MW of power by itself. With 60 megawatts of power, approximately 40,000 households can be supplied without interruption. The power generated by existing full-size reactors can be as high as 1000 megawatts, making it a very small reactor. However, NuScale Power's SMRs will not operate alone, but a nuclear power plant that INL will build in Atomic City is planned to operate 12 SMRs together. The reactors are lined up in concrete trenches, into which water is poured as a safety measure.
Atomic City's next-generation nuclear power plant using NuScale Power's SMR will be connected to the grid in 2026, which may `` start a new era of nuclear power plants, '' City Journal said. It is written. NuScale Power's SMR has the added advantage of being able to add affordable power generation equipment as needed, so that nuclear power plants can gradually expand their power generation capacity.
If the operation using a small-scale reactor using SMR proposed by NuScale Power is successful, there is a possibility that more demand will be obtained. Many politicians and states have promised to phase out thermal power generation with coal and natural gas and switch to renewable energy generation. However, it is said that it is difficult to replace existing power generation with renewable energy alone, so other clean energy is required. In addition, since solar power and wind power are affected by the weather, energy sources that can supply stable power regardless of the weather are required.
In addition, even renewable energy advocates have acknowledged that replacing existing energy sources with renewable energy can be very costly.
What is the cost of replacing global energy sources with renewable energy? -GIGAZINE
On the other hand, nuclear power generation using SMR can supply power efficiently and stably while suppressing carbon emissions. 'SMR is an approach to reducing carbon emissions without disrupting the economy,' said Ted Nordhouse , founder of The Breakthrough Institute .
In the first place, conventional nuclear power plants have been required to make each reactor as large as possible. As a result, building a nuclear reactor is expensive and requires a skilled workforce to operate. However, Mr. Reyes seems to have questioned the design model of a nuclear power plant using a huge nuclear reactor when he spent a year overseas as an advisor to the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency in 2004. 'I have met people from countries like Africa, Malaysia and Indonesia. They all said,' We need electricity, but we need something smaller. I can't afford a nuclear reactor.] 'Explains the process that led to the development of the SMR.
The SMR proposed by Reyes is basically a smaller version of the existing water-cooled reactor, but it is also said to be greatly simplified. The system operates in a closed containment and does not require complex piping or pumps. Large-scale nuclear power plants require a constant flow of water to keep the reactor cool even after the reactor shuts down, but NuScale Power's SMR is designed to keep it passively cold, There is no need for a cooling step with a stream of water. In addition, in the event of a malfunction, the water stored around the containment container takes away heat and is designed to release surplus heat to the atmosphere even when the tank dries, so it can be operated very safely. is.
State-of-the-art advanced reactors sell safety just like NuScale Power's SMR, and place reactors where existing nuclear power plants could not be installed, such as in industrial parks or inside military bases. Propose to build. Also, SMRs use far less nuclear fuel than existing reactors, so much less heat is released in the event of a problem, and typical meltdown does not occur in theory. NuScale Power has already received an order for SMR, one of its customers is the federal government, which will install a nuclear power plant in Atomic City, Idaho.
In addition to government, utilities consortiums in six western states have purchased SMRs from NuScale Power. However, we do not know if other organizations will adopt the new SMR. One thing is clear: there is an 'economic problem' behind traditional nuclear approaches, making it difficult for Western countries to build large, capital-intensive nuclear projects. It has become. Two reactors under construction at the Georgia power plant called Vogtle have not been completed ten years after construction as a result of significant delays and cost overruns. Therefore, SMRs that can be introduced from relatively low cost and small scale are attracting attention.
In addition, NuScale Power's SMR is a leader in the field because it uses technology similar to existing commercial reactors, making it easier to obtain regulatory approval. And that. However, it is not only NuScale Power that is developing SMRs and next-generation reactors. GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy is developing a 300 MW small module reactor BWRX-300 , and Bill Gates has launched a next-generation reactor development startup, TerraPower , which will be completed in 2022 in China. We have signed a contract to build a demonstration reactor.
In the following article, Bill Gates himself talks about his efforts at TerraPower.
Summary of all questions and answers that the person himself descended and answered one after another because 'Ya, Bill Gates but do you have any questions?'-GIGAZINE
By OnInnovation
There are other potential markets for next-generation reactors. It is applied to 'industrial processes requiring high temperatures for production' such as cement, plastics and fertilizers. Whereas most industrial processes that require high temperatures for their production use the heat generated from the combustion of fossil fuels, the ability to use SMRs as small high-temperature generators could provide a source of electricity and heat. As these can greatly contribute to the cost reduction of these industrial processes.
There are problems with such next-generation reactors. One of these is the 'very cumbersome regulatory approval process.' However, in the United States, nuclear physicist Ernest Monis has been appointed secretary of the Department of Energy under the Obama administration to strengthen instructions on nuclear energy. The Trump administration has also funded nuclear research and funded more than $ 100 million in the sector to help startups like NuScale Power gain regulatory approval. Assigned.
Another issue is 'proliferation concerns.' However, most SMRs are operated with moderately enriched uranium and are not suitable for producing nuclear weapons. However, a small number of next-generation nuclear reactors use more powerful uranium isotopes as fuel, so they may be used for nuclear weapons production. However, Mr. Nordhaus says, 'State-of-the-art reactors are sealed. You can deliver the reactor unit already fueled,' reducing less troublesome problems such as nuclear proliferation and waste management. Claim that you can.
And with the entry of many nuclear reactor development startups, research on the appropriate conditions for initiating a fusion reaction in a much smaller vessel than government-led projects has progressed, and in the future, Nordhouse says a more compact and cheaper reactor should be completed.
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