Matthew L. Wald writes in The Breakthrough Institute about emerging advanced nuclear reactors.
- Several innovative companies are developing next-generation advanced nuclear reactors.
- Light water advanced reactors, which will likely hit the market first, use the same technology as large nuclear power plants but at a much smaller size.
- Meanwhile, TerraPower’s Natrium reactor uses molten salt storage to store power and deliver to the grid during times of peak demand.
- Innovation and research and development are unleashing clean energy technologies.
“At the moment, the new reactors with the shortest path to commercial deployment look to be light-water reactors: they use fuel that is already commercially produced and most of their various components are already in production. Of the new light-water reactors, the three that seem most likely to be commercialized first (detailed below) are all ‘small modular reactors,’ meaning that they can be factory-manufactured, and built faster, allowing for lower costs and easier quality control.”
Read the full article here.
The views and opinions expressed are those of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of C3.
