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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

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

How Did the MOX Project Get So Expensive?

May 17, 2016 By Rod Adams 23 Comments

Over the past week or so, I’ve engaged in a “root cause analysis” project to determine why the US is having so much difficulty implementing a plan to take 34 metric tons of nearly pure plutonium 239 — a fissile isotope with virtually the same energy value as uranium 235 — out of our nuclear […]

Filed Under: Atomic politics, Breeder Reactors, Economics, Fossil fuel competition, Fuel Recycling, Politics of Nuclear Energy

No obstacles prevent China from rapidly building floating nuclear power plants

April 23, 2016 By Rod Adams 35 Comments

Credible entities in China have begun lining up the supply chains required to produce reliable electrical power from barge mounted nuclear fission power plants. There are no technical, industrial, or regulatory hurdles that prevents the first of those machines from being in service by 2020. China has a pressing need for the electricity those movable […]

Filed Under: Atomic ships, International nuclear, New Nuclear, Nuclear Navy, Nuclear Ships, Small Nuclear Power Plants, Smaller reactors

Lightbridge metallic alloy fuel provides upgrade path for LWRs

April 13, 2016 By Rod Adams 53 Comments

Lightbridge, a company that was originally incorporated as Thorium Power, Inc., has achieved significant technology developments after making a strategic turn in 2010 from thorium based fuels to low enriched uranium metal alloy fuels. As funding dried up from the government agencies supporting their thorium work, the company chose to use its assembled nuclear engineering […]

Filed Under: Advanced Atomic Technologies, Atomic Entrepreneurs, Economics, Nuclear Fuel Cycle, Water Cooled Reactors

Bechtel will “pursue” accelerated mPower development

March 8, 2016 By Rod Adams 18 Comments

I’ve relearned a valuable lesson — read press releases and other PR material closely, paying special attention to wiggle words. On Friday, March 4, Bechtel issued a press release titled Bechtel, BWXT to Pursue Acceleration of Small Modular Nuclear Reactor Project. In my excitement, I missed the key word in the headline and in the […]

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

Bechtel and BWXT have announced an acceleration of Generation mPower

March 5, 2016 By Rod Adams 9 Comments

Note: For an update on this topic see subsequent post titled Bechtel will “pursue” acceleration of mPower project. On March 4, 2016, in a press release issued from Reston, VA, Bechtel and BWX Technologies (BWXT) announced that they would be accelerating their Generation mPower small modular reactor project. Bechtel will take over the project lead […]

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

DOE and UAMPS sign agreement for siting at INL

February 18, 2016 By Rod Adams 24 Comments

At the 12th annual Platts Nuclear Energy Conference, John Kotek, the Acting Assistant Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Energy just made a major announcement. Yesterday, February 17, 2016 Rick Provencher and Doug Hunter signed an agreement between the U.S. Department of Energy and UAMPS (Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems). It provides UAMPS with a use […]

Filed Under: Advanced Atomic Technologies, New Nuclear, Politics of Nuclear Energy, Small Nuclear Power Plants, Smaller reactors, Water Cooled Reactors

U-Battery – Micronuclear power with intriguing business model

February 14, 2016 By Rod Adams 19 Comments

U-Battery was one of the more intriguing presenters at the Advanced Reactor Technical Summit (ARTSIII) held at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory last week. Even though this was a technical summit, the segments of the presentation that captured my attention were the business model and the funding source. However, certain technical choices are vital to […]

Filed Under: Advanced Atomic Technologies, ARTSIII Feb 2016, Business of atomic energy, Gas Cooled Reactors, Graphite Moderated Reactors, New Nuclear, Nuclear Batteries, Reactors, Smaller reactors

Atomic Show #248 – Dr. Pete Pappano, VP Fuel Production X-Energy

November 20, 2015 By Rod Adams 2 Comments

On Thursday, November 19, 2015, I interviewed Dr. Pete Pappano, vice president of fuel development for X-Energy. As described in X-Energy introduced its company and first product to Virginia chapter of ANS, X-Energy is a start-up company based in Maryland that is developing a modular high temperature gas cooled reactor. Each module will produce 50 […]

Filed Under: Gas Cooled Reactors, Pebble Bed Reactors, Podcast

Treasure trove of documents about the ML-1, the US Army’s trailer-mounted, nitrogen-cooled, atomic fission-heated generator

November 3, 2015 By Rod Adams 11 Comments

I recently published an article featuring a video from the Army Nuclear Power Program that focused on the Army’s mobile, low power closed cycle nitrogen cooled nuclear reactor designated the ML-1. The article generated a good discussion that indicated a strong desire for more information about the program. My initial searches didn’t turn up a […]

Filed Under: Army Nuclear Program, Atomic history, Gas Cooled Reactors, Small Nuclear Power Plants, Smaller reactors

X-Energy introduced its company and first product to Virginia chapter of ANS

October 30, 2015 By Rod Adams 48 Comments

On Tuesday, October 27, three leaders from X-Energy spoke to the Virginia ANS chapter about their company and the Xe-100, the high temperature, pebble bed gas reactor power system that they are designing. During the presentation, meeting attendees learned that X-Energy is an early phase start-up with a total staff of a few dozen people, […]

Filed Under: Advanced Atomic Technologies, Atomic Entrepreneurs, Gas Cooled Reactors, Graphite Moderated Reactors, New Nuclear, Pebble Bed Reactors, Small Nuclear Power Plants, Smaller reactors

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