POWER January 2022 - 28

NUCLEAR POWER
Climate Ripe for Nuclear
Advancements
Improvements in nuclear power technology are being driven by research into safer
reactor designs and new fuel types, including smaller reactors that offer flexible
siting options with modular construction. Nuclear power also is finding support in
the fight against climate change.
Darrell Proctor
P
ublic and private investment into
research and development of advanced
technologies for nuclear
power generation is on the rise. There's
support for large reactors, with China
and Russia leading the way in building
multiple advanced units, along with
smaller projects offering faster construction-and
lower build costs-that are
more flexible and scalable.
Most large reactors operating today
are Generation II designs, but more Generation
III (and III+) reactors are coming
online, and Generation IV reactors are
being tested. Ventures led by U.S. billionaires
Bill Gates and Warren Buffett have
entered the picture in support of smaller
reactors, with the Gates-backed TerraPower
teaming with PacifiCorp, Buffett's
Berkshire Hathaway power company,
and GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy on nextgeneration
small reactor technology that
would use new reactor fuels.
" Certainly, fusion energy and SMRs
[small modular reactors] are at the top
of that list " when it comes to the most
promising nuclear power technologies,
said Chuck Goodnight, a partner at Arthur
D. Little, where he leads the U.S. Nuclear
Energy team as part of the firm's global
Energy & Utilities Practice. Goodnight
told POWER that " several Generation
IV nuclear designs are also on the horizon.
Examples include X-energy's Xe-100
pebble bed design and TerraPower's traveling
wave reactor. "
Goodnight said those designs " are
both unique in that the fuel is actually
moved within the reactor during operation
to optimize fuel use. Another Gen IV
technology showing promise is molten
salt designs. I am excited to see these
new technologies develop to realize the
positive impacts they can have. I have
always liked having options, and with
these and other examples in development,
it looks like we will soon have a
good selection of nuclear energy choices
28
1. Construction continues at the site of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, the first nuclear
power plant in Turkey. A license for construction of Unit 4 was issued in October 2021. Turkish
officials have said it's the largest nuclear power construction site in the world, with about 12,000
workers at the site each day, along with more than 1,000 pieces of construction equipment and
vehicles, including 70 construction cranes. Courtesy: Akkuyu Nuclear JSC
to fit a range of requirements. "
Some of the newer large reactors are
designed with more than 1,600 MW of
generation capacity; an example is Unit
3 at the Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant
(NPP) in Finland, which is expected to
begin producing electricity in February.
That unit, though, highlights one of the
problems with today's large reactors-
long construction timelines in many
cases (construction of Unit 3 began in
2005), exorbitant cost overruns, and intensifying
debate over nuclear power's
role as the world increasingly turns toward
renewable energy and away from
thermal generation.
are generally considered those with 300
MW or less of generation capacity, and
then there are " very small reactors, "
usually with 15 MW or less of capacity
and available for deployment in remote
communities, often as part of distributed
generation installations. Several governments
have thrown their support behind
SMRs, including the U.S. and Canada.
An even smaller reactor, a 4-MW unit
(with about 1.5 MW of power generation)
known as Oklo, is being reviewed
by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
(NRC). Oklo is a Silicon Valley-based
startup with a plan to build microreactors
that could supply power for business
" We are very bullish on these advanced
nuclear reactors. "
-U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm
SMRs in the Spotlight
Much of the nuclear sector's promise
revolves around SMRs, which provide
flexibility and scalability, and can be deployed
more quickly and cost-effectively
than large-scale units. Small reactors
www.powermag.com
complexes, college campuses, and industrial
sites. Oklo last year announced
a cost-share arrangement with the U.S.
Department of Energy (DOE), partnering
with the DOE and Argonne National Laboratory
to advance electrorefining techPOWER
| January 2022

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POWER January 2022

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