These Mini Nuclear Reactors Can be Built Anywhere
These Mini Nuclear Reactors Can be Built Anywhere
Good things come in small packages.
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Narrator - Fred Mills
Producer - Adam Savage
Video Editing - Kurt Fernandes and James Durkin
Executive Producers - Fred Mills and Graham MacAree
Additional footage and imagery courtesy of NuScale Power, Moltex Energy, Radiant Nuclear, TerraPower, Terrestrial Energy, Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation, Rolls-Royce, Comisión Nacional de Energia Atómica, Duke Energy Corporation, EDF, 11Alive, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, Greg Webb/IAEA, Mariadelmar28/CC BY-SA 4.0, Steve Jurvetson/CC BY 2.0, Tapani Karjanlahti, TVO and X-energy.
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#construction #architecture #nuclear
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Content
0.24 -> what's the first thing that comes to
1.599 -> mind when you hear the term nuclear
3.36 -> power if you're thinking of past
4.88 -> disasters giant cooling towers in the
6.879 -> middle of nowhere or stores of
8.48 -> radioactive waste then well you're not
10.639 -> alone
13.12 -> despite its carbon free credentials
14.96 -> nuclear power has an unhappy reputation
17.76 -> and while public support for it may have
19.359 -> increased since the mid 1980s a quarter
21.52 -> of americans for example are still not
23.6 -> in favor
25.92 -> but now engineers may have found a way
27.76 -> to turn things around no we're not
29.599 -> talking about fusion as exciting as that
31.599 -> may be
33.52 -> instead we might be looking at the next
35.12 -> iteration of more traditional nuclear
37.36 -> making those big ugly power stations
39.28 -> smaller in some cases quite a bit
41.68 -> smaller
44.32 -> these new designs will be cheaper safer
46.48 -> quicker and easier to build than their
48.239 -> predecessors meaning they can be
49.84 -> deployed anywhere from large cities to
52.079 -> remote locations and even though there's
54.079 -> been some skepticism the first projects
56.16 -> are already in the works so does the
58.8 -> future of nuclear power mean a reactor
60.879 -> in every town or is this whole concept
63.52 -> destined for a
67.28 -> [Music]
70.84 -> meltdown climate change might be the
73.2 -> biggest issue of the 21st century to
75.28 -> help dodge the worst of its impact
77.2 -> humanity set itself a huge challenge
80 -> cutting greenhouse gases to net zero
83.84 -> renewables are the main strategy but
85.84 -> wind solar and hydro won't be enough on
88.159 -> their own we need something else in
90.24 -> reserve
91.84 -> according to the international energy
93.68 -> agency to get where we need to be we're
95.6 -> going to have to invest more in nuclear
97.52 -> power
98.479 -> but the use of nuclear has been
99.759 -> decreasing for decades not helped by
101.68 -> japan's fukushima disaster in 2011.
105.2 -> nuclear power has been declining in
108.96 -> terms of its importance to global
110.64 -> electricity generation for
112.64 -> more than 25 years at this point in the
115.119 -> ramana is a professor at the university
117.36 -> of british columbia's school of public
119.2 -> policy and global affairs
121.119 -> specializing in nuclear energy the
124.079 -> maximum contribution of nuclear power to
126.64 -> global electricity was in 1995 it was
128.8 -> 17.5
130.239 -> and it was declined to about 10
132.72 -> nuclear power plants can take decades to
134.879 -> build cost billions and are hugely
137.36 -> complex finding the right location can
139.76 -> be difficult and there are often
141.28 -> setbacks during planning and
142.48 -> construction
143.84 -> two new nuclear reactors under
146 -> construction in georgia will cost far
148.56 -> more than expected
150 -> the two reactors being constructed in
152.319 -> the united states uh in the vogel
154.56 -> project in georgia are running at around
156.959 -> 30 billion dollars at this point and
159.12 -> that
160 -> amount of cost is too much for most
162.64 -> utilities to bear but what if they
164.8 -> didn't have to be so big and complicated
167.28 -> what if we could do nuclear without all
169.28 -> the hassle well soon we might be able to
171.36 -> do just that several companies are
173.44 -> working on small modular reactors or
175.76 -> smrs which promise to make nuclear power
178.56 -> much simpler and easier
180.879 -> instead of giant reactors deliver a
183.04 -> gigawatt of power but need years of
184.959 -> construction smrs are mass produced in
187.599 -> factories
189.12 -> unlike conventional power stations which
191.2 -> are individual projects requiring a
193.12 -> great deal of prep work with these just
195.28 -> have to add one to your basket and it's
197.04 -> on the way their modular nature means
199.28 -> the smrs will be less expensive and
201.28 -> easier to install at least that's the
203.12 -> aim
204.56 -> so how small are we talking exactly so
207.44 -> smrs or small mod reactors or any
210 -> reactor that has a power output of 300
212.4 -> megawatts electric or less
214.4 -> so our design is a 77 megawatt electric
217.599 -> reactor
218.72 -> and each of those modules
221.44 -> is able to work with other modules so we
223.44 -> can put them in arrangements of four 6
225.84 -> or 12
226.959 -> to produce different power outputs
228.48 -> depending on what the customer needs now
230.72 -> small reactors aren't entirely new
233.92 -> at fort belvoir virginia the corps of
236.159 -> engineers shows off its package power
238.319 -> reactor to military attaches of the
240.319 -> washington diplomatic corps
242.319 -> it's the first step in a program to
243.92 -> develop an atomic power plant that can
245.76 -> be transported by air to remote location
248.4 -> in fact they were being designed as far
249.92 -> back as the 1950s mostly for submarines
252.56 -> and big aircraft carriers
254.48 -> there were civilian uses too but not
256.56 -> many as larger reactors went on to
258.32 -> become more economically viable where
260.56 -> things are different this time is in the
262.16 -> modular design a 60 megawatt reactor for
264.96 -> example might not be enough to power the
266.88 -> thing you want it to on its own say for
268.639 -> instance a large city
270.639 -> but you could order more than one stack
272.32 -> them together and get as much power as
273.919 -> you need they're also portable enough to
276.24 -> go pretty much anywhere you can use an
278.639 -> smr to power something which needs a lot
280.479 -> of juice like a factory
282.479 -> without having to be hooked into the
284.08 -> grid we're the first commercial nuclear
286.479 -> power plant and that's been approved by
288.479 -> the new great recognition to not require
291.12 -> independent connections to the grid and
293.04 -> that's huge because that allows us to
294.56 -> work closely with industry for example
296.72 -> hydrogen production
298.24 -> one of our modules working with high
300.08 -> temperature steam electrolysis can
301.919 -> produce about 50 tons of hydrogen per
304.16 -> day sounds great but we know what you're
306.479 -> thinking if we're going to have nuclear
307.919 -> reactors everywhere how do i know there
309.919 -> won't be a minish noble in my hometown
312.56 -> before you go digging a bunker in your
314.4 -> backyard these units are designed to be
316.32 -> far safer than their predecessors
318.24 -> because the cores of smrs are much
320.4 -> smaller they generate less heat and
322.4 -> there are far fewer moving parts to
324.16 -> worry about
325.28 -> they've got clever safety features too
327.919 -> so for our design under the worst case
330.08 -> conditions
331.36 -> the reactors will safely shut themselves
333.12 -> down
334 -> without any operator action
336 -> without any ac or dc power
338.72 -> and they'll remain cooled for an
340.24 -> unlimited period of time without the
341.919 -> need to add water
343.52 -> so that's a first for commercial nuclear
345.199 -> power and it makes it extremely
346.96 -> resilient and extremely safe making sure
349.44 -> things don't go wrong is clearly a
351.44 -> priority for this other new company
353.44 -> ultra safe nuclear corporation a name we
356.16 -> can't decide whether we love or hate
358.639 -> inside its reactor the fuel is encased
361.039 -> within layered ceramic coatings placed
363.12 -> inside a silicon carbide matrix we're
366.08 -> not entirely sure what that means but
367.759 -> we're told it makes the fuel highly
369.28 -> rugged and stable even at extreme
371.28 -> temperatures as for waste when all the
373.6 -> fuel has been spent after about 20 years
375.84 -> the caskets can be swapped out like a
377.759 -> giant a battery and stored in an
379.84 -> underground repository
382.319 -> another firm multex energy has gone a
384.8 -> step further by designing an smr that's
387.12 -> fueled by recycled nuclear waste called
390.16 -> the ssrw it's a type of reactor that
392.72 -> uses molten salt for fueling and cooling
395.199 -> this method allows any radioactive gases
397.52 -> to be absorbed and in the event of an
399.52 -> emergency the reactor can be drained and
401.52 -> the salt solidified preventing a
403.12 -> meltdown now you might not have heard of
405.28 -> these companies but you will know some
407.039 -> of the people and tech firms linked to
408.639 -> them radiant developer of a one megawatt
411.44 -> microreactor is run by former spacex
414 -> engineers meanwhile terrapower which
416.479 -> plans to build a demo reactor in wyoming
418.4 -> was set up by bill gates
420.4 -> at 345 megawatts terrapower's tech is
423.759 -> arguably too big to be an smr but it's
426.24 -> still much smaller than a regular power
428.24 -> station the same goes for rolls royce
430.24 -> and its new 470 megawatt reactor
434 -> according to the international atomic
435.84 -> energy agency there are already several
438.24 -> modular reactors under construction
439.919 -> around the world argentina was the first
442.24 -> to break ground with an smr project the
444.479 -> 25 megawatts karen which has been
446.319 -> underway since 2014
448.72 -> although it's just a prototype the plan
450.479 -> is to follow up with a bigger version of
452.08 -> at least 100 megawatts once it's
453.919 -> complete hopefully in 2023.
457.039 -> china's also announced it's building a
459 -> 125 megawatt demo project in hainan
461.759 -> province ling long one was the first
463.919 -> small reactor to pass a safety review
465.84 -> from the iaea in 2016 and construction
468.879 -> began in 2021
471.44 -> these schemes may be small in terms of
473.28 -> reactor size but they still need a huge
475.199 -> amount of time and effort to complete
477.28 -> these are issues that nu scale and its
478.879 -> competitors plan to tackle if they
480.56 -> overcome their remaining hurdles
482.879 -> but despite the challenges new scale's
484.72 -> first smr project at the idaho national
487.199 -> laboratory is scheduled to start
488.639 -> providing power by 2029 and other firms
491.84 -> have set similar timelines
494 -> things do seem to be progressing nicely
496.319 -> but there are certain factors that are
497.919 -> making some experts skeptical professor
500.16 -> romano isn't convinced they'll produce
502 -> enough power to make them cost effective
504.879 -> so you're going to start with reactors
507.44 -> which are fundamentally even more
509.84 -> expensive on a per kilowatt hour basis
512.959 -> as compared to large reactors and large
515.519 -> reactors themselves are much more
517.68 -> expensive than the other even low carbon
520.32 -> alternatives including solar and wind
522 -> power at this point he also believes
523.76 -> that getting full regulatory approvals
526.08 -> isn't going to be easy
528.08 -> because if you're going to be building
529.36 -> them and you're going to be building
530.32 -> them all over the place including near
532.48 -> towns and and in remote place and so on
534.959 -> you want to be absolutely sure that
537.36 -> you're trying to make it as safe as
538.8 -> possible any good nuclear uh safety
541.6 -> regulator
542.72 -> will ask a lot of difficult questions
545.36 -> right what happens if there's a fire
547.279 -> what happens if the operator makes this
549.04 -> kind of a mistake what happens if this
551.04 -> equipment fails
552.72 -> and answering those questions is going
554.64 -> to be very difficult but new ideas are
557.36 -> desperately needed to battle the climate
559.44 -> crisis and whether or not smr technology
562.399 -> ends up making a difference you can see
564.56 -> why it's starting to generate so much
566 -> excitement if it's time to give nuclear
568.24 -> another chance then perhaps good things
570.24 -> really do come in small packages
573.2 -> if you enjoyed this video and you want
574.64 -> to learn more about where construction
576.32 -> is headed make sure you subscribe to
578.64 -> tomorrow's build
592.399 -> you
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrN_SRzsEF4