The new, safer nuclear reactors

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As of early 2018 there were 75 separate advanced fission projects trying to answer that question in North America alone according to the think tank Third Way. These projects employ the same type of reaction used in the conventional nuclear reactors that have been used for decades—fission or splitting atoms.

While NuScale’s approach takes traditional light-water-cooled nuclear reactors and shrinks them so-called generation IV systems use alternative coolants. Another generation IV variant the molten-salt reactor is safer than earlier designs because it can cool itself even if the system loses power completely. Canadian company Terrestrial Energy plans to build a 190 MW plant in Ontario with its first reactors producing power before 2030 at a cost it says can compete with natural gas. Helium-cooled very-high-temperature reactors can run at up to 1 000 °C and the state-owned China National Nuclear Corporation has a 210 MW prototype in the eastern Shandong province set to be connected to the grid this year.

Three reasons for renewed hope for nuclear power Small modular reactors Advanced fission Fusion SMRs are a slimmed-down version of conventional fission reactors. Most advanced is the “pebble bed” reactor cooled by a gas such as helium; China is ready to connect the first such reactor to the grid this year. Companies NuScale Power China National Nuclear Corporation TerraPower Terrestrial Energy ITER TAE Technologies General Fusion Commonwealth Fusion Systems Power output 50-200 megawatts 190-600 megawatts 100-500 megawatts Expected life span 60 years 40-60 years 35 years Cost $100 million prototype For many though the great energy hope remains nuclear fusion. Fusion reactors mimic the nuclear process inside the sun smashing lighter atoms together to turn them into heavier ones and releasing vast amounts of energy along the way. Still General Fusion expects its reactors to be deployable in 10 to 15 years. California-based TAE Technologies meanwhile has spent 20 years

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