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Atomic Insights

Atomic energy technology, politics, and perceptions from a nuclear energy insider who served as a US nuclear submarine engineer officer

Reactors

Clean and Doable Liquid Fission (LF) Energy Roadmap for Powering Our World

March 21, 2017 By Guest Author

By: Robert Hargraves and Chris Uhlik Introduction This essay responds to an article by Stanford Professor Mark Z. Jacobson et al, 
100% Clean and Renewable Wind, Water, and Sunlight (WWS) All-Sector Energy Roadmaps for 139 Countries of the World. Their controversial WWS roadmap has several interesting features and benefits. Coal, natural gas, and petroleum energy […]

Filed Under: Climate change, Guest Columns, Liquid Fuel Reactors, Small Nuclear Power Plants, Thorium, Thorium Reactors

Bechtel And BWXT Quietly Terminate mPower Reactor Project

March 19, 2017 By Rod Adams

Generation mPower, one of the early leaders in the development of small modular reactors (SMR), has decided to fully terminate its partnership and put the design material that was developed onto a corporate shelf. Though this isn’t specifically good nuclear news, it is an indication that nuclear energy development has many hurdles that it shares […]

Filed Under: Business of atomic energy, Small Nuclear Power Plants, Water Cooled Reactors

NRC accepted NuScale’s DCA. Will it complete its review on time? Estimated completion July 2020

March 16, 2017 By Rod Adams

Yesterday, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission accepted NuScale’s 12,000 page design certification application (DCA). That action starts the safety determination process, which is scheduled to take 40 months. Completed on December 31, 2016 and submitted to the NRC on January 12, 2017, NuScale’s certification application has been subjected to a 60 day checklist review designed to […]

Filed Under: Advanced Atomic Technologies, New Nuclear, Nuclear regulations, Small Nuclear Power Plants, Water Cooled Reactors

ThorCon and Indonesia moving forward smartly on manufactured nuclear plants

March 14, 2017 By Rod Adams

ThorCon executives with Indonesian project leaders

Three state-owned Indonesian companies, Pertamina, PLN and INUKI, have completed the ThorCon technology pre-feasibility study agreed to in the Memorandum of Understanding with ThorCon International. The ten-month study concluded that the ThorCon molten salt reactor design could deliver safe, cheap, clean energy, could be built now, would be economically viable, and would have the potential […]

Filed Under: Advanced Atomic Technologies, Liquid Fuel Reactors, Thorium Reactors

U.S. Shouldn’t Depend On Russian Reactors. Restore Our World Class Fast Flux Test Facility

March 10, 2017 By Rod Adams

Senator Carper (D-DE) asked each witness at a March 8 hearing about NEIMA – Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act – to give one suggestion for improving the bill. If asked, my answer would be to include findings that emphasize the importance of U.S. government-owned testing facilities that are capable of supporting the NRC licensing […]

Filed Under: Advanced Atomic Technologies, FFTF, Fuel Recycling, Irradiation, Liquid Metal Cooled Reactors

FFTF restoration would provide the fastest, most efficient path to fast spectrum neutron testing

February 28, 2017 By Rod Adams

If a U.S.-based researcher or reactor designer needs to irradiate fuel or material with fast neutrons for testing, their current options are extremely limited. No domestic test facility can provide enough fast neutrons to do anything more than slowly irradiate a small quantity of tiny samples. Anything more requires the full cooperation of either Russia […]

Filed Under: Advanced Atomic Technologies, Liquid Metal Cooled Reactors, mothball, Politics of Nuclear Energy

Kairos Power Is Hiring For Hybrid Natural Gas-Nuclear Power System

February 17, 2017 By Rod Adams

As long-established nuclear system vendors falter under the weight of challenges that often burden mega-projects, a growing herd of start-up companies envision an exciting future in innovative nuclear solutions to the world’s energy trilemma. One of the newest additions in the space is Kairos Power, an Oakland, CA-based start-up that is quietly assembling a team […]

Filed Under: Advanced Atomic Technologies, Hybrid, Innovation

History Made as NuScale Files First SMR Application With U.S. Nuke Regulators

January 27, 2017 By Rod Adams 10 Comments

Two years ago, NuScale committed to filing a license application for its eponymous SMR design with U.S. regulators by the end of 2016. Just three months before two company executives used a custom pen on the cover letter of the ~12,000 page design certification application, even NuScale insiders were doubtful that the task could be […]

Filed Under: Advanced Atomic Technologies, Pressurized Water, Small Nuclear Power Plants, Smaller reactors

Terrestrial Energy Announces Plans To License Their Integral Molten Reactor In The U.S.

January 25, 2017 By Rod Adams 15 Comments

Yesterday, Terrestrial Energy USA (TEUSA) informed the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) that they planned to begin pre-license application discussions with a goal of being ready to file a design certification application no later than Oct 2019. Here is a brief video that provides an overview of Terrestrial Energy‘s Integral Molten Salt Reactor (IMSRTM TEUSA […]

Filed Under: Advanced Atomic Technologies, Liquid Fuel Reactors, Nuclear regulations, Reactors, Small Nuclear Power Plants, Smaller reactors

History and promise of high temperature gas cooled reactors

January 16, 2017 By Guest Author

By: Diarmuid Foley A small modular nuclear reactor to replace coal plants could be on the market within 5 years. In 2014, the Generation IV international forum[1] confirmed the Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR) as one of 6 promising reactor technologies that should be pursued in order to develop advanced reactors suitable for deployment in […]

Filed Under: Advanced Atomic Technologies, Atomic history, Gas Cooled Reactors, Pebble Bed Reactors, Reactors, Small Nuclear Power Plants, Smaller reactors

Will China convert existing coal plants to nuclear using HTR-PM reactors?

November 21, 2016 By Rod Adams

It would be a huge benefit to the earth’s atmosphere if China, India, Brazil and the US could reduce direct coal burning while still making use of much of the capital that they have invested in building coal fired power plants. It would make an even larger difference in reducing air pollution in the areas […]

Filed Under: Advanced Atomic Technologies, ANS Winter 2016, Climate change, Gas Cooled Reactors, Graphite Moderated Reactors, New Nuclear, Pebble Bed Reactors

NuScale Getting Ready For Design Certification Submission

October 26, 2016 By Rod Adams 18 Comments

NuScale remains on track to submit a high quality design certification application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission by the end of 2016. That statement might surprise people who follow small modular reactor developments closely enough to be aware that the company received a status report earlier this week from the NRC that gave a grade […]

Filed Under: Advanced Atomic Technologies, Business of atomic energy, New Nuclear, Small Nuclear Power Plants, Water Cooled Reactors

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