Image credit: turbosquid.com
The supposed climate/emissions angle is useful to the makers, although the article points out that ‘some experts and activists contend that the world can radically scale back hydrocarbons without using more nuclear power’. Of course not being intermittent and weather dependent is a selling point for electricity generation devices these days, for example in EV charging away from home.
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During a wide-ranging interview with The Epoch Times, the leadership of Nano Nuclear Energy Inc. predicted they would win the race to commercialize a reactor small enough to fit in a shipping container, says ZeroHedge (via OilPrice.com).
“By 2030, we’re pretty convinced we’ll be the first company to sell microreactors,” said Nano Nuclear CEO James Walker, a nuclear physicist who previously led the development of the Rolls-Royce Nuclear Chemical Plant.
Nuclear microreactors are meant to be nimble, mobile sources of heat or up to 20 megawatts of electricity.
Microreactors are utterly dwarfed by big, conventional nuclear reactors, which can generate up to a thousand times as much power as a microreactor. They’re also smaller than the small modular reactors (SMRs) now also being developed.
Unlike their heftier cousins, microreactors can be trucked to people and places far from the grid or in need of emergency energy.
“The microreactor is really aimed at remote habitation, mining projects, disaster relief areas, charging stations, and data centers,” Mr. Walker said.
Mr. Walker isn’t the only one picturing more nuclear power in data centers. A recent job listing by Microsoft seeks someone to help the company run its data centers on microreactors and SMRs.
“Maybe we could power a Bitcoin mining operation,” said Nano’s founder and president, Jay Jiang Yu. He said multiple Bitcoin companies have contacted them about using a microreactor to power their energy-intensive activities.
“Think about keeping it in Alaska because always overheating is an issue,” he added.
Nano’s researchers are developing two microreactor models, the solid-core battery reactor Zeus and Odin, which have a more standard design based on low-pressure coolant and enriched uranium dioxide fuel.
“We’re pretty confident now that we’re pretty much neck and neck with anybody else in the microreactor space,” Mr. Walker said.
Their competitors include the nuclear industry heavyweight Westinghouse, at work on its eVinci microreactor design, and Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, among others.
Mr. Walker told The Epoch Times that the microreactor market is less developed than the SMR market.
“To actually get into this space and pull ahead is far easier,” he said.
Interest and Skepticism
Interest in microreactors and other advanced nuclear technology has increased partly because of concerns about climate change.
While various processes associated with nuclear power can produce greenhouse gasses – for example, mining uranium for fuel – nuclear fission doesn’t directly generate them. For governments and corporations that have committed to net zero carbon emissions by 2050, nuclear energy can look rather enticing.
Yet, some experts and activists contend that the world can radically scale back hydrocarbons without using more nuclear power.
Full article here.
via Tallbloke’s Talkshop
October 12, 2023 at 05:57AM
Iowa Climate Science Education 