While trees are calling for wind and more unreliable solar power, nuclear is about to take a big step forward from recent Pentagon approves first micro-reactor. This is the technical summary from the United States Office of Nuclear Energy.
Micro-reactors are factory-manufactured plug and play reactors.
They can be used to power military bases, disaster recovery efforts, or remote locations where traditional infrastructure does not exist.
These mini reactors can provide between 1-20 megawatts of thermal energy that can be used directly as heat or converted into electrical energy.
They fit on the back of a pickup truck and won’t require a large number of people to operate them.
The microreactors can seamlessly integrate into the distributed grid to supplement renewable electricity and are expected to run continuously for about 10 years without refueling.
After running out of cores, they can be exchanged for new cores.
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Microreactants are not identified according to their fuel or coolant type. Instead, they have three main features:
- Manufacturing factory: All components of a micro-reactor will be fully assembled in the factory and transported to the site. This eliminates the difficulties associated with large-scale construction, reduces capital costs, and will help get the reactor up and running quickly.
- Can be shipped: Smaller unit designs will make the microreactors very easy to transport. This will make it easier for suppliers to transport the entire reactor by truck, carrier, plane or train.
- Self-regulating: Simple and responsive design concepts will allow micro-reacters to self-regulate. They will not require a large number of specialized operators and will use passive safety systems to prevent any possibility of overheating or reactor failure.
Benefit
Microreactor designs vary, but most can generate 1-20 megawatts of thermal energy that can be used directly as heat or converted into electrical energy. They can be used to generate clean and reliable electricity for commercial use or for non-electrical applications such as area heating, water desalination and hydrogen fuel production.
Other benefits:
- Seamless integration with renewable energy in microgrids
- Can be used for emergency response to help restore power to disaster areas
- Longer core life, working up to 10 years without refueling
- Can be quickly removed from the site and exchanged for a new one
Most designs will require a fuel with a higher concentration of uranium-235 that is not currently used in today’s reactors, although some may benefit from using a high-temperature regulator material. will reduce fuel enrichment requirements while maintaining a small system size.
The U.S. Department of Energy supports a wide range of advanced reactor designs, including gas, liquid metal, molten salt, and heat-tube cooling concepts. US micro-reactor developers are currently focusing on gas-cooled and heat-tube designs that could launch as early as the mid-2020s.
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