Advanced nuclear makes primetime with Oklo on CNBC

Oklo is designing an advanced form of nuclear power generator called a fast reactor which is expected to be more efficient than traditional nuclear, allowing it to get energy out of already "spent" fissile fuel, which we now consider "waste."

Fast reactors are also more efficient with the fuel they do use and, by using "fast" neutrons, they are able to use the waste from conventional nuclear reactors making them many times more efficient, because they can unlock the 95% of fissile energy that remains in the fuel after a traditional reactor can no longer use it.

While fast reactor technology has been around since the 1950s, there are only about 20 fast neutron reactors operating, with Russia the current leading developer of fast reactor technology. Oklo is looking to change that and make building and operating a fast reactor much more cost-effective. Back in February of 2020, the Idaho National Laboratory announced it was going to give Oklo access to nuclear waste so it can develop and demonstrate its fast reactor technology, it means that this material, which was previously destined for disposal, will be used to produce energy."

While this article by CNBC mostly reports on information that was older news, it does include the recent announcement by the DOE that Oklo was awarded a cost-share grant to work with the INL to commercialize electrorefining technology for reprocessing used nuclear fuel—in order to recycle it for use in advanced reactors. Additionally, the reporting by CNBC on Oklo and advanced nuclear in itself is also a type of news, as this may be the first time that CNBC has reported on advanced nuclear.

Read the article at CNBC "Oklo has a plan to make tiny nuclear reactors that run off nuclear waste," by Catherine Clifford, published June 28, 2021.

Published by Nucleation Capital in Advanced Nuclear, Carbon emissions, Climate change, Distributed grids, Fail-safe fuels, Future of Energy, LINKS, Nuclear innovation, Solving climate, Zero emission energy

June 30, 2020

Nuclear ‘Power Balls’ May Make Meltdowns a Thing of the Past

Wired Magazine dives deep on TRISO pebble fuel, which consists of particles of an alien-looking fuel with built-in safety features that will safely power a new generation of high-temperature reactors.

Most nuclear reactors today operate well below 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit, and even the next generation high-temperature reactors will top out at about 2,000 degrees. But during INL tests, researchers demonstrated that triso fuel pellets could withstand reactor temperatures over 3,200 degrees Fahrenheit. Out of 300,000 particles, not a single triso coating failed during the two-week long test. Thus, with new reactor designs, where it’s physically impossible to exceed these temperatures because the reactor automatically shuts down as it reaches these high temperatures, when you take these reactor designs and combine them with a fuel that can handle the heat, you essentially have an accident-proof reactor.

Read more about TRISO fuel at WIRED Magazine: Nuclear ‘Power Balls’ May Make Meltdowns a Thing of the Past.

Published by Nucleation Capital in Energy abundance, Fail-safe fuels, Future of Energy, Government support, History Timeline, LINKS, Nuclear competitiveness, Nuclear innovation, Nuclear R&D, Private companies, Public companies, US competitiveness, US technological leadership, Zero emission energy

November 6, 2015

Obama hosts White House Summit on Nuclear Energy

President Barack Obama hosted a White House Summit on Nuclear Energy just prior to his trip to Paris, France for the UNFCCC's COP 21, the Paris Conference of the Parties, which was held from November 30 to December 12, 2015. The White House summit drew expert speakers from a wide cross-section of government offices, private sector, academia and from advanced nuclear start-up founders and engineers. The panel discussed the future of nuclear power, the importance of nuclear power across multiple vectors and actions being taken by the government to sustain and advance nuclear power. A focus of the comments was the urgent need for the United States to maintain a leadership role in development the next generation of advanced reactors for national security reasons.

Published by Nucleation Capital in Brilliant thinkers, Carbon emissions, Climate change, Climate policy, Construction costs, Fail-safe fuels, Government support, History Timeline, LINKS, Nuclear competitiveness, Nuclear financing, Nuclear innovation, Nuclear R&D, Reduced ecosystem impacts, Regulatory reform, US competitiveness, US technological leadership