The US company Westinghouse has presented the first of a new range of mini modular nuclear reactors, the AP300, and assures: it will provide a sea of energy without polluting the environment.
Goodbye, coal
Rita Baranwal, Westinghouse's chief technology officer, explains that the AP300 will be a scaled-down version of the AP1000 reactors, already operating in China and under construction in Georgia, United States. This new version will not use special fuels or metallic liquids like some other latest generation reactors, maintaining simple and proven technology. In this way the first mini reactors will be operational by 2033.
In other words: Westinghouse enters the "race" to provide the greatest energy support for the abandonment of fossil fuels and decarbonization by 2050. An effort that also seems to involve nuclear reactors, supported by the Biden administration in the USA and by EU countries (the inclusion of nuclear power was given great prominence in the taxonomy of green energy).
In essence, mini nuclear can give this form of energy the opportunity to participate in the transition. An opportunity that "traditional" nuclear power, with its long lead times, cannot have. Small modular reactors like the AP300 could be used in new contexts. They could replace shuttered coal plants, for example. Or bringing energy to remote communities.
Mini reactors chasing the global market…
Westinghouse says that the AP300 will be passively safe, because it has 72 hours of autonomy in the event of an accident, a large margin of time in which it does not require electrical power or human intervention.
This factor could overcome worries raised by critics of nuclear power, and make investment in mini reactors more attractive in countries seeking greater energy independence.
Not only the United States, therefore, but also Eastern Europe and sub-Saharan Africa.
…but will they succeed?
On costs, Westinghouse did not disclose those of the first AP300 reactor, but said subsequent reactors will cost about $1 billion. The local American market is showing interest (the states of Virginia and Ohio), but it is not enough to say that mini-nuclear power will replace the old coal plants.
Also because exports to countries like China are hampered by the restrictions imposed in 2018, and in Europe it is still strong the political opposition.
In summary: mini reactors, big unknowns. It remains to be seen whether this technology can overcome the obstacles and become an integral part of our energy future.
What do you think?
