The renaissance of nuclear energy is underway. And the microreactors are preparing to give it a boost

The physicists and engineers involved in the development of fourth generation nuclear fission reactors They are working to propose new designs that conceptually may be very different from those of previous generations. Of course, the requirements that these new nuclear power plants must meet are clearly defined. The first of them consists of achieving the maximum possible sustainability, so that the fuel is used to the maximum to produce energy, the amount of radioactive waste resulting from the process is minimized and its management is as efficient as possible.

The second requirement concerns the economic investment that must be made to start up and maintain the nuclear power plant, which must be as low as possible so that it can be compared to the expenditure required by other sources of energy, thus reducing the risk. financial. And the third and final requirement stipulates that safety and reliability must be high enough to minimize the probability of damage to the reactor core. Besides, if an accident occurred It should not be necessary to take emergency measures beyond the nuclear power plant facilities.

Westinghouse and Radiant working on the world’s smallest reactors

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) published a very detailed report in September 2024 entitled “Energy, electricity and nuclear power estimates for the period up to 2050”. In it, it analyzes the short and medium-term future of nuclear energy and delves into its role as a means of generating electricity that can contribute to the achievement of global climate objectives. However, the most interesting thing is that this organization predicts that global nuclear power will increase by 2.5 by 2050.

Compact and modular nuclear reactors play a crucial role in achieving that vision, but microreactors will also likely play a very important role. As their name indicates, they are compact and modular nuclear reactors much smaller than conventional fission machines. As we can predict, they produce less energy than the latter, usually 50 megawatts or lessbut thanks to their size they can be installed in remote places where it is not possible to set up a traditional nuclear power plant.

However, nuclear microreactors have more advantages. On the one hand, its installation is relatively simple and much faster than that of conventional reactors. In addition, they do not require large water cooling systems, they operate in an automated manner and their maintenance is simpler than that of a traditional nuclear plant. And, interestingly, the eVinci and Kaleidos microreactors being developed by the American companies Westinghouse and Radiant use uranium-based tristructural isotropic particles (TRISO) as fuel.

The particles of this fuel are the size of a poppy seed and contain uranium, carbon and oxygen encapsulated in a carbon-ceramic shell that is capable of withstanding extreme temperatures. On paper this nuclear fuel is the most robust ever developed to date. An interesting note: Radiant uses helium as a coolant, while Westinghouse uses a passive heat duct system. These two companies have the financial support of the US Department of Energy (DOE) and plan to place their microreactors on the market in 2030 as long as, of course, they obtain a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

Image | Westinghouse Electric Company

More information | IEEE Spectrum

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