TerraPower - So You’re Saying There’s a Chance?
The New York Jets, the weed industry, and nuclear energy are a few things with shaky pasts but promising futures. Some certainly more than others – in Darnold I trust –and the future of nuclear energy in particular is looking especially promising.
Nuclear is the Tamika (from School of Rock) of the clean energy revolution. It is an option with huge upsides: given the appropriate attention and investment, it will carry the show. In fact, nuclear already represents around 1/5th of the power generation in the US, currently eclipsing renewables which are around 17% as of 2019.[1] Just as Tamika rocked the stage with her angelic voice after Jack Black invested his time, trust, and effort in her, , nuclear will be doing big things on the energy stage — it just needs more time and innovation to truly tap into its near-zero emission potential.
Some of the risks and/or setbacks of nuclear are straightforward (Hi Chernobyl – great show btw), but other than the waste and safety concerns, there is the question of time effectiveness (planning to operation) and the huge price tag. I won’t delve too much into these, but if you want more info on the reasons behind the anti-nuclear movement, you can check out the Leonardo Dicaprio Foundations write-up. Either way, I may not think nuclear is the complete answer right now, but I do believe it to be not only an essential key to global clean energy generation down the road, but also a major player across other energy intensive markets. Which is why it does need attention now. The good thing, though, is that with problems come innovative solutions—and that’s where TerraPower comes in.
TerraPower’s goal is to develop a sustainable and economically viable nuclear energy system, all while reducing the risks of proliferation and creating new options for converting low-level waste into vast energy sources. The founder is none other than Bill Gates and his clan of other genius non-human entities. Having a founder in Bill Gates, TerraPower has an abundance of advantages, including collaborations with more than 80 corporations, national laboratories, universities, and expert consultants—all of which help shape its success, which it’s seen early on with its nuclear tech innovations.
I’m no scientist but let’s dive into the tech. TL;DR for those who aren’t in the mood to get smacked in the face with a ramble on scientific innovation: Traveling Wave Reactor (TWR) is a cleaner, safer, and more efficient nuclear reactor by running on its own (nuclear) waste. Molten Chloride Fast Reactor (MCFR) is a low-cost reactor that expands the ability of nuclear reactor technology to decarbonize the economy in sectors beyond electricity due to its ability to function safely in high-temperature regimes.
The company’s golden child is their advanced nuclear reactor concept, the Traveling Wave Reactor (TWR). The TRW operates with higher thermal efficiency and consumes uranium resources in a more efficient, cleaner, and safer manner than current nuclear technology. Science lesson: Uranium is a common metal found in most rocks worldwide and is widely used in nuclear fission because its atoms can easily be split apart. Fission is the action of splitting something apart so Uranium make sense. (Nuclear plants utilize a specific type of Uranium (Uranium-235), aka enriched Uranium.) Another valuable energy source in the nuclear fuel cycle is Plutonium. Plutonium is a byproduct of Uranium. The reactor core is the money maker of the TWR. In the center of the core sit a few rods of enriched uranium (U-235), surrounded by rods of depleted uranium (U-238). The U-235 serves as an initiator, kick starting the traveling wave reaction – a slow-moving chain reaction of concentric waves of fission. The traveling wave reaction will then slowly convert the depleted uranium to plutonium and consume this new fuel. This is the differentiator of the TRW – unlike traditional nuclear reactors that rely on enriched uranium to produce power, the TWR can function on waste uranium, a byproduct of the current reactor design. It’s an answer to the nuclear waste issue because it runs on its own waste, making nuclear power safer and cheaper. Along with removing waste, it makes these materials unavailable for use in nuclear weapons, which is a huge win for everyone.
The other big dog on campus is the Molten Chloride Fast Reactor Technology (MCFR). This is TerraPower’s answer to decarbonizing the economy in sectors beyond electricity; specifically, MCFR expands the reach of nuclear reactor technology to areas such as carbon-free heat for industrial process like water treatment. The MCFR is a type of molten salt reactor, which is another type of nuclear reactor that uses liquid fuel rather than solid fuel rods. The company’s selling point with the MCFR is the expansion of nuclear outside electricity generation into high heat industrial processes, which are extremely energy intensive. This type of reactor also has a huge safety benefit over conventional reactors because it can’t melt down—they are literally built not to overheat. Similar to the TRW, MCFR technology is a solution to various concerns, including nuclear waste, plutonium stockpiles, and weapons proliferation.
And with that, the science ramble is over.
With its success, TerraPower has begun permeating into other areas such Medical Isotopes, Process Heat, and Advanced Reactor Modeling Interface, but I won’t delve into those now. It does seem that TerraPower will soon have nuclear reactors powering every aspect of our lives, so it’s helpful to identify this future powerhouse of a company early on.
Touching on my opening statement, if nuclear can recover from its mishaps, so can the Jets.
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[1] “U.S. Energy Information Administration - EIA - Independent Statistics and Analysis.” Electricity in the U.S. - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), 20 Mar. 2020, www.eia.gov/energyexplained/electricity/electricity-in-the-us.php.
