These Microreactors Could Bring Nuclear Power to Remote Areas

Good news! Nuclear power rocks! Wind power sucks! However, it seems to be early stage.

"Funding for two new microreactors could bring reliable nuclear power to remote locations. Westinghousesecured US $3 million for its eVinci microreactor, and Radiant Industries received $2 million for its Kaleidos microreactor, both in November from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

The funding will help the companies ready the technology for testing at the DOE’s Demonstration of Microreactor Experiments (DOME)—the first microreactor testbed in the United States. DOME is currently under construction at Idaho National Laboratory’s Materials and Fuels Complex in Blackfoot, Idaho, and is expected to be completed in 2026. The companies must conduct an analysis, called detailed engineering and experiment planning (DEEP), before running fueled experiments at the testbed.

The eVinci and Kaleidos microreactors both run on uranium-based tristructural isotropic (TRISO) particles, which the DOE calls the “most robust nuclear fuel on earth” because it cannot melt inside a high-temperature reactor. Each poppy-seed-size particle of uranium, carbon, and oxygen is encased in protective carbon and ceramic layers engineered to withstand extreme temperatures.

The microreactors differ in their cooling mechanisms, with El Segundo, Calif.–based Radiant choosing a helium gas coolant, and Cranberry Township, Pa.–based Westinghouse using a passive heat pipe system. ..."

These Microreactors Could Bring Nuclear Power to Remote Areas - IEEE Spectrum "Westinghouse and Radiant are developing some of the world’s smallest reactors"

Westinghouse’s eVinci microreactor, a cross-section