That Other Carbon-Free Fuel: The Future of Nuclear Energy
Called back from the brink of retirement, nuclear energy is evolving away from its radioactive reputation and filling the gaps in carbon-neutral energy plans.
FUTURE PROOF – BLOG BY FUTURES PLATFORM
Nuclear power plants have been in deprecation mode for decades: a source of power more potentially dangerous than efficient, generated in facilities with lifespans of maybe 60 years that create radioactive waste with half-lives of millennia. But as countries struggle to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, the nuclear energy market size is growing to ensure energy needs continue to be met while renewable energy developments ramp up and natural gas pipelines from Russia are shut down.
Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima: the three worst disasters of nuclear energy’s relatively short history. Meltdown, which happens when the superheating in a fission reactor cannot be stopped, can be triggered by mechanical failure, human error, or mother nature herself. The consequences of a meltdown, as well as the nuclear waste these plants produce, are destructive on a multi-lifetime scale. Furthermore, the radioactive material used in nuclear power plants is also used in nuclear weapons, making proliferation a major concern when states that are not members of the “nuclear club” claim to be seeking enriched uranium for strictly peaceful power generation.
THE COOLING EFFECT OF THE COLD WAR
The decades-long arms race following World War II funnelled money into the research and development of nuclear weaponry over nuclear energy production, stunting nuclear technology growth and dooming the industry to eventual collapse. With no safer and more efficient plants to replace them, power plants aged out of their ability to function safely.
As concerns over pollution, climate change and the dwindling supply of fossil fuels surfaced, research into clean, renewable energy sources picked up new steam – and funding. Solar, wind and hydro were envisioned as the future of energy use, but scaling up these technologies takes more time than the planet can afford to spend.
Enter compromise. EU member countries pieced together energy packages comprising renewable and lesser-polluting fuels, such as liquified natural gas (LNG) and nuclear. Then Russia, by far the biggest source of LNG for the EU, invaded Ukraine and invited a host of economic sanctions, including severe restrictions on the flow of LNG into the EU. This forced many EU member nations to reverse course on plans to shut down nuclear power plants, with several choosing to build even more.
But with existing power plants nearing or at the end of their functionality, the high cost (in money and health) of mining uranium and nuclear waste continuing to be an environmental and proliferation threat, is the risk in investing in nuclear energy too high? And – the more daunting question – are there other options?
REVIVING PROGRESS IN CLEAN NUCLEAR ENERGY
The 1990s dawned with the breakup of the Soviet Union, a relaxing of Cold War tensions and the first signs of progress in nuclear energy. Carlo Rubbia, then director general of CERN, launched the European Commission funded First Energy Amplifier Test (FEAT), which successfully demonstrated a cleaner, safer thorium-based process of generating nuclear power. This may very well have begun a chain reaction of future advancements in nuclear energy.
The benefits of thorium use are many – it’s widely available, has high energy density (one tonne provides the equivalent of three million tonnes of coal or 200 tonnes of enriched uranium), has no military use and produces minimal radioactive waste.
Thorium reactors can even be used to “burn up” existing long-term nuclear waste, promising a much less onerous and dangerous future of nuclear spent fuel. China, currently the vanguard of cleantech, is investing heavily in thorium molten salt reactors, which are much smaller than uranium-based reactors and don’t require water cooling, making them ideal for providing power to inland areas. Earlier this summer, Chinese authorities officially approved the commissioning of the first thorium molten salt nuclear reactor in China.
The future of nuclear is divided into two camps - here’s why | Source: CNBC International
With changes in fuel come changes in reactors. NuScale in Portland, Oregon, through a private-public partnership with the US Department of Energy (DOE), is set to bring the first prefabricated Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) to market in the US and has inked a deal with Romania for the deployment of Europe’s first SMR. NuScale’s fully factory-fabricated modular light water reactor power plants can be transported to where they’re needed, rather than built on site.
Each module can generate 50 MWe of electricity, and up to 12 modules can be combined to generate as much as 600 MWe, making the configurations tailorable to the needs of each population centre in which they are installed. And, by installing modules serially, the profits earnt from each module can fund the purchase and installation of subsequent modules. Market analysis for nuclear energy indicates that this can make the technology affordable for developing countries, for whom standard nuclear power plants have always been out of financial reach.
And what once seemed as unobtainable as the Holy Grail, net energy gain in a nuclear fusion reaction, was achieved at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory last December and repeated the breakthrough with higher energy yields in July – a sign of the much further future of nuclear energy.
THE ROLE OF NUCLEAR IN THE FUTURE OF ENERGY
Advancements in nuclear energy hold the tantalising prospect of virtually limitless and clean energy generation. These breakthroughs have the potential to reshape our energy landscape, providing a more robust and sustainable grid while addressing the intermittency drawbacks of renewables.
However, they are accompanied by substantial challenges, and striking a balance between safety and energy production is paramount. The high upfront costs and public apprehension about nuclear safety demand significant investments in research, public engagement, and policy frameworks.
In the long run, the future of clean nuclear energy remains hazy. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) projected that nuclear energy could contribute about 14% of global electricity by 2050, but this figure may rise even further if geopolitical pressures persist and energy security concerns become further intensified. Conversely, nuclear power could retain a marginal role in the energy mix or even be phased out if alternative renewable sources overcome technical hurdles and achieve cost-effectiveness.
