The Uncertain Future of Nuclear Power

The Uncertain Future of Nuclear Power

The Uncertain Future of Nuclear Power

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Credits:
Writer/Narrator: Brian McManus
Writer: Josi Gold
Editor: Dylan Hennessy
Animator: Mike Ridolfi
Animator: Eli Prenten
Sound: Graham Haerther
Thumbnail: Simon Buckmaster

References
[1] https://www.iea.org/fuels-and-technol…
[2] https://www.world-nuclear.org/informa…
[3] https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-41…
[4] https://energy.mit.edu/research/futur…
[5] https://www.dw.com/en/sweden-approves…
[6]https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?…
[7] https://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin…
[8] https://www.researchgate.net/profile/…
[9] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science…
[10] https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/…
[11] https://aris.iaea.org/Publications/SM…
[12] https://www.oecd-nea.org/upload/docs/…
[13] https://www.nuscalepower.com/en/products
[14] https://www.nuscalepower.com/-/media/…
[15] https://www.technologyreview.com/2023…
[16]https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/sta…
[17]https://ieefa.org/resources/eye-poppi…
[18]https://energypost.eu/small-modular-r…
[19]https://atb.nrel.gov/electricity/2022…
[20]https://www.worldnuclearreport.org/Wo…
[21]https://smractionplan.ca/

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Content

0.06 -> Over the past 5 decades nuclear power has prevented the release of 50 gigatonnes of
5.25 -> carbon dioxide.
6.36 -> That’s equivalent to 2 years of total global energy generation related emissions.
12.13 -> [REF][1] Nuclear Power is the most powerful tool at
14.96 -> our disposal to stop human driven climate change in its tracks, yet powerful industrial
21.12 -> countries like Germany have turned their back on this technology.
25.16 -> Rapidly deactivating power plants prematurely.
28.26 -> Nuclear power, despite its clear climate change fighting potential, carries inherent risks
33.78 -> that have hampered political will to invest in the technology.
37.93 -> In order to thrive and help our planet overcome its greatest challenge, nuclear Power needs
43.02 -> to evolve.
44.55 -> This is the Future of Nuclear power.
49.32 -> We can’t begin to address the solutions of the future, without addressing the failures
53.91 -> of the past.
55.55 -> Many of the most notorious nuclear meltdowns were caused by errors in coolant systems.
60.92 -> Take the three-mile island partial meltdown incident of 1979.
65.65 -> The incident began with a mechanical failure in the plant's cooling system.
70.1 -> It all started when the steam generator stopped receiving water due to a faulty clogged filter.
75.81 -> The loss of water meant that the reactor's energy didn't have anywhere to go, raising
80.27 -> the temperature of the reactor.
82.13 -> As the pressure rose due to water being boiled, a relief valve opened.
86.22 -> [2][REF]
87.22 -> A valve designed to only open for 10 seconds, but another fault resulted in the valve staying
93.14 -> open.
94.14 -> Allowing the precious coolant inside the reactor to escape.
97.4 -> Pushing temperatures even higher.
99.65 -> As the core temperature continued to rise, the reactor operators received conflicting
104.22 -> information from the control room.
106.509 -> The emergency water system that should have provided extra water to the cores was blocked.
112.1 -> Two days earlier, the plant was closed due to maintenance, and the valves for the emergency
116.71 -> coolant were closed.
118.27 -> Unfortunately, they were not reopened when the reactor was restarted.
123.09 -> The operator should have noticed that these valves were closed but for reasons unknown,
127.51 -> he didn't see the warning lights in his panel.
130.789 -> One leading theory is that his stomach blocked his view of the control panel.
135.23 -> Even then, The NRC, the regulatory body governing nuclear safety, Had a rule that if the emergency
141.53 -> coolant valves were closed, the reactor must be shut down.
145.629 -> The Situation at Three Mile Island was in clear violation of those rules.
150 -> While the meltdown was triggered by a mechanical failure, the situation was worsened by human
154.89 -> error.
155.89 -> The Three Mile Island incident serves as a reminder of the critical importance of both
160.519 -> robust mechanical safety systems and foolproof controls in nuclear power plants.
166.849 -> It highlights the need for attention to detail in design, where even minor aspects like the
172.129 -> positioning of alarms on control panels can have far-reaching consequences, potentially
177.379 -> leading to catastrophic meltdowns.
180.239 -> To prevent such incidents, future nuclear power plant designs must proactively address
185.239 -> these issues.
186.4 -> When the consequences of human error are nuclear meltdowns, there is no room for human error.
192.38 -> [REF][3]
193.38 -> In Fukushima, an earthquake and its resulting tsunami knocked out the plant's cooling systems.
198.73 -> The cooling systems in Fukushima depended on a separate energy source.
203.55 -> The pumps that were needed to cool the reactors lost power, resulting in a catastrophic meltdown.
209.44 -> The plant did have a backup system, which also failed.
213.28 -> This need for external power to cool the reactors was a key disadvantage of the design.
219.519 -> Fukushima also highlighted a weakness of current nuclear reactors, the use of water as a coolant.
226.769 -> Liquid water is a great conductor of heat and serves as a fantastic cooling agent.
231.86 -> However, when control is lost this water can lead to a high-pressure steam explosion, spreading
237.7 -> radioactive materials across vast distances.
241.319 -> For this reason, many new reactor designs seek to incorporate passive cooling systems,
246.9 -> which require no external power source, and aim to replace water with safer cooling mediums.
253.76 -> Before discussing these future designs, there is another large problem facing Nuclear Energy.
259.22 -> Its waste.
260.86 -> Light-water reactors operate in what is called an open fuel cycle.
265.2 -> In this cycle, The uranium gets mined, processed, enriched, used, and then stored.
270.669 -> Leaving us with barrels of radioactive waste that governments have been struggling to deal
275.19 -> with.
276.19 -> In the US, there has been a plan to create deep geological storage facilities 660 meters
282.59 -> below Yucca Mountain.
284.56 -> This has been the plan since the 1980s but hasn't been put into action, so nuclear fuel
291.15 -> is still being stored in dangerous interim storage facilities scattered around the country.
296.919 -> As is the case with most nuclear energy projects it has faced delays and a lack of funding.
302.72 -> Obama, Trump, and Biden have all failed to address this looming ecological threat.
308.97 -> Waste management issues have continually caused political turmoil.
312.65 -> Shipments of nuclear waste from France to Germany have been met with thousands of protestors,
317.61 -> a key driver of political pushback on the development of nuclear energy.
323.06 -> So is there an engineering solution to this logistical concern?
327.5 -> Of Course, adequate long-term storage is possible.
331.04 -> Sweden has approved large storage repositories here in Frostmak. [4,5][REF][REF] Finland
335.66 -> has made similar arrangements to store its Nuclear waste here.
339.46 -> [4,6][REF] [REF]This Finnish deep geological repository is expected to come online within
344.07 -> a year.
345.31 -> Deep geological repositories are sophisticated engineered systems that employ multiple layers
350.68 -> of protective barriers to isolate the spent fuel from the surrounding environment.
355.31 -> [REF] [4]
356.31 -> What if we could make use of this nuclear waste, rather than locking it away for centuries
360.59 -> like a supernatural Zelda villain.
363.72 -> Nuclear waste can be recycled.
366.34 -> During the early development of Nuclear power, Uranium was thought to be a limited resource
371.5 -> so a lot of research was directed into creating closed fuel cycles where the spent uranium
377.25 -> would be reprocessed and recycled.
379.759 -> But the assumption of limited uranium was wrong.
382.919 -> Uranium is very common in the earth's crust.
385.81 -> It’s much cheaper to mine, enrich, and process uranium than it is to recycle nuclear waste
391.759 -> into workable fuel.
393.36 -> Hence the adoption of an open fuel cycle.
396.52 -> This is the system currently operating on most nuclear reactors with new waste piling
402.19 -> every minute.
403.289 -> Recycling spent nuclear fuel is just a matter of separating unused uranium from the fission
408.88 -> products.
409.98 -> This process is also not new, it was developed in the 1950s and the basic steps are still
415.02 -> used today in France and in Japan.
418.36 -> France for example, cools its nuclear waste here.
421.84 -> For three years it sits there before moving to the reprocessing steps.
425.9 -> [REF] [7]
426.9 -> With the added cost, and the potential of extracting plutonium for nuclear weapons,
430.91 -> the Carter administration banned US recycling facilities in 1977.
435.26 -> [REF] [7]
436.449 -> This recycled fuel can go back into regular light water reactors, or it could go into
441.63 -> newer reactor designs.
443.75 -> Two common themes in new generation reactors is passive cooling and higher thermal efficiencies
449.28 -> through high temperature coolants.
451.84 -> Light water reactors are limited to an operating temperature of around 300 degrees celsius,
456.47 -> above this temperature the high pressure water begins to boil.
460.4 -> Thermal efficiency is how much electrical energy we can produce from thermal energy,
465.49 -> and in general, this efficiency gets better with higher temperatures.
469.61 -> To increase efficiency, future nuclear reactors can switch the coolant to something that can
474.44 -> handle higher temperatures.
476.509 -> In the early 2000s, the US Department of Energy decided to create the Gen IV international
482.289 -> forum.
483.289 -> It was composed of the best scientists around the world to direct policy decisions and funding
488.47 -> for new reactor designs.
490.93 -> They chose a total of 6 new reactor technologies and coined them Generation IV reactors.
497.249 -> Instead of using water as a coolant, Gen IV reactors can use gas, supercritical water,
502.66 -> molten salts, molten lead, or sodium to increase the operating temperature of the reactor.
508.47 -> This increase in efficiency will result in less nuclear waste per gigawatt generated,
513.77 -> but these designs also aim to increase passive cooling capabilities and limit nuclear proliferation
520.69 -> risks.
521.69 -> One of the most interesting prospects is the Molten salt reactor or MSR.
526.79 -> In these reactors, the coolant and the radioactive fissile material are all combined.
531.81 -> The basic premise of these reactors was tested and experimented with during the 1960s at
537.691 -> the Oak Ridge National Laboratory
540.26 -> In an MSR, the fuel consists of nuclear fuel, such as uranium or thorium, dissolved in a
546.61 -> molten salt mixture.
548.57 -> The salts typically used are fluorides or chlorides, which have high melting points
552.959 -> and good heat transfer properties.
555.57 -> The fuel salt circulates through the reactor core, absorbing heat generated by nuclear
560.32 -> fission.
561.32 -> After it passes through the core, the fuel salt transfers heat to a secondary salt coolant
566.72 -> loop.
567.72 -> The secondary salt, which does not contain fissile material, absorbs the heat from the
572.19 -> fuel salt and carries it to a heat exchanger.
575.75 -> In the heat exchanger, the heat from the secondary salt is transferred to a separate working
580.649 -> fluid, typically water, which then powers a steam generator.
585.16 -> Since the coolant that they use does not need to be at high pressure like the water-cooled
589.08 -> reactors in Fukushima, salt reactors also are not at risk of high-temperature steam
593.95 -> explosions.
595.08 -> While light water reactors typically have a thermal energy efficiency of around 30%,
599.709 -> molten salt reactors have been theorized to achieve efficiencies between 40% to 45% [REF]
605.12 -> [4].
606.12 -> Molten Salt Reactors also have the potential for inline fuel processing, which means that
610.57 -> while the reactor is operating, the fuel salt can be continuously reprocessed to remove
615.46 -> fission products and add new fuel.
617.94 -> Meaning the machine can run continuously without stopping for refueling.
622.01 -> At first glance, you'll notice that the system needs not one, but two pumps.
626.73 -> However, these reactors can safely cool down even when power is lost to these pumps.
632.73 -> The salts' chemical properties naturally inhibit further nuclear fission as temperatures increase.
638.899 -> The exact mechanisms of this depend on the salt composition, but generally, as the molten
643.81 -> salt gets hotter, it expands.
646.399 -> This expansion decreases the volume of fuel in the core of the reactors, and therefore
651.7 -> decreases the rate of nuclear fission.
653.67 -> [Ref] [Ref][8,9]
654.67 -> Meaning, the hotter it gets, the less fission occurs, helping prevent nuclear meltdown.
658.92 -> [REF][9]
659.92 -> A freeze plug is also located at the bottom of the liquid salt pool.
663.88 -> The freeze plug is designed to melt at a particular temperature.
667.6 -> In the event of an uncontrolled rise in temperature the plug will melt and allow the fuel and
672.68 -> molten salt to passively drain into cooled dump tanks.
676.57 -> [REF][9]
677.57 -> Molten Salt Reactors are some time away from commercial readiness and that problem extends
681.86 -> to all other 4th generation reactors despite significant support from proponents of these
687.92 -> technologies.
689.41 -> The 4th generation international forum originally proposed that most of these technologies would
694.67 -> to be ready by 2020, but based on the fact that the only footage available is from the
700.029 -> 1960s, that has not come to fruition.
703.48 -> Lack of funding, and competition from low cost solar and wind, has held back development
708.24 -> of these fourth generation technologies.
710.89 -> This problem is only going to continue until Nuclear energy addresses its largest problem.
717.19 -> Cost.
718.24 -> Since 2003, MIT has been conducting studies specifically aimed at guiding researchers
724.24 -> and policymakers towards a viable future for nuclear energy.
728.96 -> In their latest report, they stated that the utmost importance must be given to lowering
733.9 -> the cost of nuclear plants.[REF] [4].
736.14 -> And thus, the most promising ideas seek to address these cost issues.
740.44 -> While deep geological repositories, uranium reprocessing, and Gen IV reactors had the
745.4 -> brunt of the work done during the 1900s.
747.579 -> A new design concept started to emerge in the early 2000s.
752.11 -> Small Modular Reactors, or SMRs for short.
755.71 -> The goal of this design is to miniaturize reactors and convert them into small standardized
761.12 -> modules that can be fabricated in factories.
764.54 -> This standardization not only could decrease costs but inherently increases their reliability
769.86 -> and safety as complexity is removed from the manufacturing and assembly while decreasing
775 -> on-site construction costs.
777.51 -> Small modular reactors work in much the same way as regular nuclear plants, but with smaller
782.839 -> individual reactors that can work in expandable modules.
787.02 -> Gradually increasing the output of a power plant with cheaper factory-made modules, rather
791.779 -> than building one large custom-designed nuclear power plant with 1000 Megawatts of electricity
797.32 -> capacity.
798.32 -> [REF][10]
799.32 -> Making the reactors smaller also comes with the big benefit of passive safety.
802.72 -> A smaller reactor has more surface area for heat transfer to occur in proportion to the
807.699 -> volume of material that needs cooling.
810.529 -> Meaning natural convection cycles are sufficient to cool the reactor.
814.62 -> As the coolant is heated, it rises due to its lower density, establishing a natural
819.88 -> flow pattern that drives the cooling process.
823.329 -> SMRs are not defined as one type of nuclear reactor or one design, rather, they are a
828.829 -> family of designs that takes advantage of the miniaturization of the technology.
833.579 -> Because of this, no one SMR is like the other.
837.029 -> Some use Gen IV reactors, others use light water reactors.
840.47 -> Currently, over 70 commercial small modular reactors are being developed.
845.87 -> [REF][REF][11,12]
846.87 -> Nuscale may be the most promising of all these companies.
849.71 -> Their most recent 77MW Module is around 20 m tall and 4.5 m in diameter.
855.199 -> [REF] [13] Each of these modules is lowered into a water bath and set on top of seismic
859.94 -> isolators.
861.1 -> This makes sure that any earthquakes do not affect the reactor.
864.519 -> [REF] [14] All of the components needed for the nuclear reaction are fitted in one steel
868.579 -> containment vessel.
870.139 -> To create a larger plant, Multiple modules are connected together.
873.79 -> If power to the reactor is lost, control rods fall automatically in a gravity driven mechanism,
878.87 -> and the containment vessel seals its valves to isolate itself.
882.83 -> The water from the core is boiled off as steam but stays inside the containment vessel.
887.92 -> Transferring heat with the outside cooling pool, the steam condenses and pools at the
891.74 -> bottom of the reactor vessel.
893.88 -> Creating a natural circulation of cooling water inside the steel containment vessel.
899 -> Within seconds the energy and temperature drop drastically and within a day the thermal
903.24 -> power drops by 90%.
905.42 -> Cooling off the last 10% over the course of weeks.
908.139 -> And while this all sounds great, we are nowhere near commercial deployment.
912.649 -> NuScale is by far the most ahead, but have only managed to create a one-third scale model
918 -> of their power plant.
919.3 -> [15][REF]
920.3 -> Other countries like Russia, China, France, and South Korea have also invested in creating
924.6 -> SMR technologies but have struggled to find utility customers.
928.94 -> Without potential customers these startups will always fail in a capitalist system.
934.459 -> Even Nuslace has been dropped by some utility clients as their prices seem to have exceeded
939.26 -> expectations.
940.26 -> [REF] [16]
941.26 -> This poses a massive challenge to companies that rely on large-scale standardized factories
945.839 -> to achieve their key market advantage.
948.279 -> To build the factory they need customers, but they can’t get customers without the
952.82 -> factory.
953.85 -> Thousands of reactors will need to be built before economies of scale can kick in, and
958.589 -> in reality, the exact reason traditional nuclear reactors produce so much electricity is to
964.32 -> benefit from the economies of scale.
967.37 -> Building a 1000 MW reactor reduces the cost per megawatt, and that’s THE most important
973.3 -> metric in the electricity market.
975.74 -> That’s how you get grid operators to buy your electricity, by making it cheaper.
981.18 -> NuScales’ original price point was 55$/ MWh.
985.31 -> However, due to inflation, rising steel costs, development issues, and many delays the costs
991.36 -> are now estimated at 100$/ MWh. [17,18][REF][REF] In comparison, onshore wind and solar can
997.97 -> be as cheap as 30$/MWh [19].
1000.569 -> [REF].
1001.569 -> With the threat of climate change looming over us, we need to ask ourselves.
1005.759 -> Can we rely on a capitalist system to fix a problem driven by capitalism?
1011.09 -> There is a distinct possibility that these technologies will never succeed without government
1016.47 -> funding.
1017.47 -> Energy generation is the foundation of every major world economy, and it is in countries
1022.68 -> best interest to invest in these technologies . Nuclear energy provides energy security.
1029.169 -> The US is not alone in trying to develop the technology.
1032.18 -> China has embarked on the construction of a functional small modular reactor (SMR) project
1037.77 -> here.
1038.77 -> However, similar to many nuclear ventures, costs have significantly escalated, with the
1043.67 -> SMR reportedly being twice as expensive, in terms of cost per kilowatt hour, compared
1049.27 -> to a traditional large-scale nuclear plant.
1052.53 -> [REF][20]
1053.53 -> Canada has formulated a 2020 SMR action plan to help bring down cost, and have invested
1058.6 -> millions of dollars into SMR start ups.
1061.17 -> [REF] [REF] [21,22]
1062.17 -> Developing these technologies will need vastly more money than this, but it’s a step in
1067.1 -> the right direction.
1068.74 -> Wind and solar are game changing technologies that we could only have dreamed of being as
1073.549 -> cheap as they are today 2 decades ago, but we need every tool at our disposal to fight
1079.98 -> climate change.
1081.289 -> Not just to decarbonize our energy generation, but to start fighting the effects of climate
1085.99 -> change ,population growth and global industrialization.
1090.049 -> From increasing demand for air conditioning, water scarcity driving the need for energy
1094.69 -> intensive water desalination, to last ditch efforts to reverse climate change with carbon
1100.11 -> capture.
1101.24 -> Energy is the cause and solution to our problems.
1105.47 -> The transition from fossil fuels, in my opinion, is the most pressing issue facing humanity.
1111.27 -> This is an all hands on deck problem.
1113.96 -> We need our best minds working on it, and I see it as part of my responsibility with
1118.44 -> a platform as large as mine to inspire the next generation of engineers to work on the
1123.87 -> solutions.
1125.15 -> Where I try to inspire, I see Brilliant as the perfect partner for follow through.
1129.85 -> For education.
1131.179 -> The courses on Brilliant are perfect for getting you prepared for engineering college, or for
1136.41 -> simply advancing your current career.
1139.02 -> From advanced mathematics courses to computer science.
1141.87 -> They even have courses on the very foundation of energy generation, electricity and magnetism.
1147.61 -> Brilliant uses interactive courses that test your knowledge along the way.
1151.76 -> A platform designed to teach you difficult subjects in the most efficient way possible.
1157.01 -> Using visual interactive examples, and they don’t impede your progress when you struggle.
1161.669 -> If you can’t figure out an answer, you can open an in depth explanation and move onto
1166.66 -> the next section.
1168.16 -> These are likely the most universally useful courses to present and future engineers, but
1173.91 -> there are plenty of other courses on Brilliant.
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Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INl3pCXm6Tw