In recent years, nuclear power companies have been focusing more on making microreactors, which are cheaper, safer and more modular. They are also expected to greatly assist decarbonisation efforts across sectors.
ADVERTISEMENTNuclear power has continued to make significant progress in recent years, and the past year alone has seen significant advances in advancing US nuclear deployment goals, historic reactor restarts, and several new reactor deployments.
This has been further fueled by new climate targets, with several countries now looking for better sources of renewable energy to meet their green targets.
Although nuclear development in Europe has been somewhat slower than in the US, a number of EU countries, such as Romania, France and Bulgaria, are still stepping up efforts to purchase nuclear projects and increase investment.
Nuclear reactors are used in various industries such as oil production, power generation, manufacturing and desalination. They are also used in research facilities, nuclear power plants and to power ships such as icebreakers and submarines.
Several smaller consumer goods such as watches and clocks, smoke detectors and non-stick materials also use small amounts of radioactive material.
In recent years, many nuclear power companies have been trying to reduce the size of reactors so they can increase carbon-free energy production, as well as help the sector reduce its reliance on electric batteries.
These smaller reactors are expected to be roughly the size of shipping containers and essentially function like smaller batteries.
Why are nuclear companies now focusing on microreactors?
Microreactors have the ability to provide clean energy, and at the same time are much more reliable than traditional generators, because they do not need to be refueled for years. They are also considered safer, with passive safety features that significantly reduce the risk of radioactive release.
They are also much cheaper than larger plants, while being modular, as they are factory built and then installed where needed in modules. Microreactors can also be applied to numerous purposes and industries, such as water desalination, district heating, military bases and more.
They require no on-site workers or control room to operate or maintain, enabling more autonomous operations across all sectors while reducing operating costs.
One of the main reasons companies are switching from nuclear power to microreactors at this time is to replace traditional generators that use fossil fuels such as gas and diesel, in an effort to help with global decarbonization efforts.
Currently, these types of gas and diesel generators are used in numerous industries such as agriculture, manufacturing, healthcare, construction, education, transportation, and defense, among several others. They are also used for specific functions such as offshore oil and gas drilling platforms as well as data centers.
As such, switching to nuclear microreactors can greatly help these industries reduce carbon emissions at least partially.
Microreactors are also becoming more popular as their use in the mining industry becomes more prominent. Most mines use diesel as their main source of energy for mining at the moment, which can be expensive but also very polluting. However, microreactors can take care of both of these problems, due to their clean power supply as well as their long-lasting performance.
One of the main companies leading the microreactor revolution is Westinghouse Nuclear, which is developing the eVinci microreactor. This is expected to have an output of about 5 megawatts of electricity for more than eight years, without the need for topping up.
ADVERTISEMENTIt aims to provide secure, carbon-free and scalable energy for numerous applications such as universities, remote communities, data centers, industrial centers and defense operations. It will also have the capacity to produce hydrogen.
Jon Ball, head of Westinghouse Nuclear’s eVinci microreactor program, said: “Initially the idea was that there are parts of the economy that are very difficult to decarbonise, particularly remote communities that depend on portable diesel, which is very expensive. But the level of interest has really increased and we believe this will be an area of significant growth,” reports the Financial Times.
Nuclear power still faces obstacles to becoming mainstream
Although nuclear power has made impressive strides in advancing global climate goals, it still faces a significant amount of backlash.
One of the main issues of concern is the production of radioactive waste and its improper disposal, in many cases. This has led to increased fears of risks to human health and the environment over the next few years, should this waste contaminate key resources such as water bodies and land.
ADVERTISEMENTThe risk of nuclear disasters such as the Chernobyl disaster and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident has also fueled much of the opposition against new and existing nuclear projects.
Another major concern involves the risk of nuclear weapons proliferation, which may exacerbate ongoing geopolitical tensions. Other risks include uranium miners dealing with rising rates of lung cancer.
However, one of the biggest deterrents to nuclear power so far, which is also expected to affect microreactor production, is the cost of building nuclear reactors, which can often run into the billions of dollars.
Although microreactors cost much less than traditional nuclear reactors, they still require significant investment and do not yet have a developed market. This makes it much more difficult to find investors, especially in the current uncertain economic situation.
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