Aerial view of the core module of China's Linglong One, the world's first commercial small modular reactor , installed last year in Changjiang Li Autonomous County.The nuclear power industry is experiencing a paradigm shift, moving away from colossal, high-cost projects towards more compact and economical alternatives.
Secondly, they utilize factory-built modules: reactor components are manufactured off-site and assembled on location, potentially reducing construction time and costs. It’s estimated that over 60 firms worldwide are developing SMRs. Established players like Rolls Royce and Westinghouse, alongside innovative startups like Last Energy in the United States, are in the mix.
Last Energy aims to have its first fully functional, nuclear-fueled reactor operational by 2026 or 2027. Other manufacturers are working on similar timelines, driven by the urgency of addressing climate change.Nuclear power boasts an impressive safety record, with only three serious accidents in approximately 20,000 reactor years of operation.
Kugelmass reframed the waste issue as an opportunity: “What you’ve done is you have performed alchemy, you have transmuted many different normal, stable elements to unstable isotopic versions.”