The evolution of the nuclear sector is one of the major challenges of the years to come, for the production of clean and sustainable energy. All over the world, efforts are increasing to innovate, renovate or build new reactors in the face of ever-increasing demand for electricity.
At COP 28, 22 countries signed a declaration calling for tripling nuclear energy production capacities between 2020 and 2050, in order to reduce dependence on oil, gas and coal. For their part, technology giants like Microsoft, Google and Amazon are investing massively in this sector, while the explosion of AI requires a colossal amount of energy for data centers.
The MIT Technology Review offers us an analysis of the advances in nuclear matters that should see the light of day in the coming years.
IVth generation reactors
“We watch reactors on paper become real reactors” said Patrick White, research director at the Nuclear Innovation Alliance, a non-profit think tank. A big step indeed should be taken in the use of new cooling materials. Current nuclear reactors operate with as uranium fuel and water as coolant.
Advanced so-called “generation IV” reactors, under development around the world, propose using more enriched versions of uranium as well as molten salt or metals such as lead as coolant.
In the United States, Argonne National Laboratory is conducting research on these Generation IV nuclear reactors, including sodium-cooled fast reactors (SFRs), which are safer, more efficient and produce less waste. According to Interesting Engineering, they use a test device, THETA, to simulate real-world conditions, enabling progress toward more efficient reactors.
Several American companies are expected to carry out this research. This is the case of the company Kairos Power, which obtained a permit to build its first sodium-cooled fast reactor, which should see the light of day in the years to come.
-However, progress is not only seen in the United States. China is currently working – in addition to the construction of conventional reactors – on a new range of helium-cooled reactors, capable of reaching temperatures above 1,500°C.
Maximize the capacity of existing reactors
Beyond new construction, one of the major challenges of the coming years is to make the most of existing nuclear power plants. In countries already benefiting from old nuclear power plants, the trend is towards the extension of licenses.
“While many power plants built in the 20th century were initially licensed to operate for 40 years, there is no reason why many of them cannot operate for longer if they are properly maintained and some equipment is replaced“, argues the MIT Technology Review.
Some countries such as France and Spain have recently extended the licenses of their operating reactors beyond their initial 40 years. These expansions are expected to continue, and the next few years could see more reactors in the United States re-leased for lifespans of up to 80 years.
Another point of interest: the reopening of power plants closed for economic reasons. In the United States, several power plants are targeted such as that of Palisades in Michigan, that of Duane Arnold Energy Center in Iowa or that of Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania which should restart by 2028 according to the owner of the site.
