MicroNuclear
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Obama's 2012 budget includes push for 'mini-nuke' reactor development
The President revealed his 2012 budget proposal today, including $853 million for nuclear energy research -- which includes development of "mini-nukes," or small, modular reactors that can be shipped and deployed relatively quickly, and built relatively cheaply (up to $2 billion, as opposed to the $10 billion price tag of your traditional reactor). But don't get excited -- you won't likely be able to get your own backyard reactor just yet. For the time being, they're to be placed in existing large-scale labs like the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. It is hoped that the reactors will bring a 28 percent reduction of the Energy Department's carbon footprint by 2020.
Mini nuclear plant is safe, affordable and purifies water (but doesn't turn lead into gold)
This isn't the first time we've seen a micro nuclear reactor, and with the looming energy crisis it probably won't be the last. Designed by scientists at Los Alamos, the Hyperion Power Module will retail for $25 million, has no moving parts, is about the size of a hot tub (less than 5 feet wide) and should generate enough electricity for about 10,000 homes, running up to ten years before it needs refueled. And if all that isn't enough, the company claims that the module is meltdown proof (the small amount of enclosed fuel would immediately cool if ever exposed to open air), that the enclosed material is unsuitable for proliferation, and in addition to generating inexpensive power the HPM can be used to purify water. Are you sold? Be sure to hit that read link -- Hyperion is taking orders now![Via Switched]
Toshiba's building a "Micro Nuclear" reactor for your garage?
Alright, details are slim, and we really have no idea if Toshiba has any plans whatsoever to sell these nuclear reactors to consumers -- in fact, we hope it doesn't -- but it does seem like the company is well on its way to commercializing the design. Toshiba's Micro Nuclear reactors are designed to power a single apartment building or city block, and measure a mere 20-feet by 6-feet. The 200 kilowatt reactor is fully automatic and fail-safe, and is completely self-sustaining. It uses special liquid lithium-6 reservoirs instead of traditional control rods, and can last up to 40 years, making energy for about 5 cents per kilowatt hour. Toshiba has been testing the reactors since 2005, and hopes to install its first reactor in Japan in 2008, with marketing to Europe and America in 2009. Oh, and we lied: we totally want one of these in our garage.[Via Dvorak Uncensored]Read - Next Energy NewsRead - Roland's Tech Trends (2005)
