7
votes
Small modular reactors and the future of energy
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- Title
- SMR -- Small Modular Nuclear Reactors - Gas-Cooled
- Authors
- Illinois EnergyProf
- Duration
- 18:59
- Published
- May 15 2021
Disclaimer: I have not watched the video, but I have followed the news regarding X-Energy (world-nuclear-news.org and exchangemonitor.com are great sources for nuke sector news).
I’m not as bullish on their reactor as I am on some of the others. Pebble-bed reactors have had issues in the past (namely the pebbles getting crushed), they don’t have the same deployment history (Germany and only now China) versus prismatic block-type reactors (US, UK, Japan; the latter has an operating unit), and the reactor size doesn’t seem to carve out a niche. I’m more optimistic on Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation’s MMR. It still uses TRISO particles in the fuel, but in a fuel form more like prismatic blocks. The reactor is far smaller (5 MW), but remains gas-cooled and high-temperature, allowing for use in remote environments (mines, small Arctic towns, etc), thus carving out a niche for itself.