Startups want to lead the US into a new nuclear age

Various start-ups Americans They are working to make small reactors that could push nuclear power into a new phase, with the support of the government of Joe Biden.

During a congressional hearing in Washington a few days ago, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm reaffirmed the “importance of the nuclear energy” for the current administration regarding the supply of energy in the United States.

However, there are no new projects underway for any traditional nuclear reactors.

In fact, the 93 remaining reactors today, which provide around 18% of the country’s electricity, are aging rapidly. Six have already been dismantled since 2017.

The future of the industry will depend on Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), similar to those currently powering submarines.

SMRs have been promoted as a cheaper option than traditional reactors, with shorter construction time and less fuel needed to ignite them, which translates into less nuclear waste.

“I have spoken to several utility CEOs and many of them say they plan to build SMRs instead of large reactors,” said William Freebairn, editor-in-chief of S&P Global.

Many SMRs will replace coal plants in remote locations, where “the capacity to install a huge unit is very limited”he added.

Although SMR technology has been in development for decades, the right time for implementation is arriving due in part to a push from the government and the recent adoption of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which offers tax credits from until 30% of investments.

Several US companies are currently working on their own SMR or AMR (Advanced Modular Reactor) designs.

But only one, Portland’s NuScale, was fully certified by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The approval was granted in January 2023, six years after the company filed the application.

“Other countries around the world that are interested in this technology are looking very closely at what is happening in the United States, and they do much the same thing with respect to the terms approved by the NRC.”said Bahram Nassersharif, director of the Nuclear Engineering program at the University of Rhode Island.

Initially, NuScale expected its six-module plant pilot to come online in 2026 in Idaho Falls, Idaho. However, delays have already moved that date to 2030.

Timing is crucial if you consider that the 28% of US coal-fired electricity generation capacity will be retired by 2035, according to an estimate by the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

In addition, US projects face increasing competition abroad, especially from South Korea, France and Russia.

“Much safer”

“The first project is always the hardest”said Chris Levesque, president and chief executive of TerraPower, a Bill Gates-backed company that expects to bring its first reactor called Natrium, in Kemmerer, Wyoming, online next month.

Natrium will be built near a power plant that is scheduled to close in 2028.

“There’s the design, where you don’t have to pay more than once, the security authority license, and then the learning curve, which is building only the first time.”says Levesque.

Unlike the NuScale prototype, which uses pressurized water like conventional reactors, Natrium uses the so-called “molten salt technology”, that does not present a risk of explosion nor does it require the traditional concrete structure for its contingency.

Another American company called Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation (USNC), which aims to have its plant in Champagne, Illinois, as of 2027, opted for a regulatory system that allows it to approve the different components of its facility as it is built. instead of having the whole project validated in advance.

The USNC model includes standardized parts that would significantly reduce construction costs and times, explained Daniel Stout, the Seattle-based company’s nuclear manager.

Americans remain divided on the use of nuclear power, although the percentage of those who oppose it has fallen from 54% in 2016 to 47% in 2022, according to a Gallup poll from last year.

SMR advocates say their reactors are safer than traditional ones, saying the new technology should not cause serious incidents involving radiation and contamination. This protects them from suffering a core melt like the one that occurred in Fukushima, Japan, in 2011.

“We have a duty to prove to independent regulators that we don’t need huge evacuation plans (…) because our design prevents accidents”highlights Stout.

“A lot was learned from the big accidents and from the minor ones as well”says Nassersharif.

“All those lessons we learned have been incorporated into these new designs,” he added. “So I think these reactors in general are much safer than the previous generation”.

Source: AFP