Public perception of nuclear energy is positive when communicating the carbon-free benefits of nuclear energy and that nuclear power is capable of generating base-load electricity. Barriers to supporting nuclear energy include popular culture’s negative representation of the technology combined with industrial accidents like Chernobyl and Fukushima. Communicating the safety aspects of nuclear technology and used
Smaller nuclear technologies offer a significant opportunity for the widespread deployment of nuclear technologies globally. While the current business model of large reactors is economically unattractive in many parts of the world due to lengthy testing and licensing, field construction, large scale size, or grid stability, small reactor technologies such as microreactors can overcome many
The Global America Business Institute has been periodically convening a high-level multinational dialogue on opportunities for international cooperation in nuclear energy since 2012. Although this forum initially began as a platform to discuss primarily spent nuclear fuel management issues among the U.S., Korea, and Japan, in recent years, the dialogue has rapidly evolved
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78QW7hYVpmo The timing of the next generation of reactors will be critical to the nuclear industry’s ability to deliver climate change solutions. The next generation of reactors requires a new source of fuel, but the fuel may be ready before the reactors are regulated, built and commercialized. It has been suggested that utilizing existing Gen-II
Although standardization will be needed to improve the viability and commercial competitiveness of future nuclear reactor designs, specific customer preferences and requirements will often necessitate customized solutions. Furthermore, as many U.S. advanced reactor designs are presently in a demonstration phase, specific design details will need to be determined before the process of standardization can commence.
Nuclear energy will be a key energy producing technology in the coming battle against climate change and greenhouse gas emissions, especially in sectors such as heavy industry and transportation. Advanced nuclear technologies offer a number of innovative characteristics that allow them to be more economical than traditional large light water reactors (LWRs). Furthermore, there is
To become viable, SMRs will require a fleet approach--deployment in large numbers with high degrees of standardization and modularity. To overcome the loss of economies of scale, the development of economies of numbers and mass production must be pursued. As such, it would be prudent for SMR vendors to mirror practices and models from other
