1. Charles Barton heard a presentation by Dr. Kazuo Furukawa and Keishiro Fukushima of the “International Thorium Energy & Molten-Salt Technology Inc.” (IThEMS) They want to build their first prototype of the Thorium Molten Salt 10 MW Mini-Fuji.
Mr. Fukushima stated that IThEMS is negotiating with Korean Shipbuilders over the potential sale of Mini-Fujis for ship propulsion systems. According to Mr.Fukushima the Korean shipbuilders are in competition with the Chinese, and view mini-Fuji power as potentially offering a competitive advantage. It should be noted that in the long range energy picture decarbonization would require that fossil fuel powered engine technology be replaced by energy from non-carbon emitting source. The options appear to be nuclear power, or synthetic liquid fuel. IThEMS claims that it can build the Fuji for 30% less than conventional water cooled reactors. Thus ship propulsion would appear to represent a market opportunity for the Mini-Fuji. Industrial process heat would be another. The Mini-Fuji would also serve as the energy source for a stand alone nuclear battery system, although that field looks crowded at the moment. The Mini-Fuji would have some advantages over its competitors including superior safety and low cost.
They are still looking for $300 million. The three hundred million will pay for the development of the Mini-Fuji prototype. Presumably you get a share of the profits from Mini-Fuji sales
2. GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) and Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, LLC, (SRNS) today announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to explore the potential of deploying a prototype of GEH’s Generation IV PRISM reactor as part of a proposed demonstration of small modular reactor technologies at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Savannah River Site.
This site has covered the Prism reactor and other aspects of GE-Hitachi nuclear plans
The MOU sets the stage for continued discussions on the potential NRC licensing and deployment of a 299-megawatt (MW) PRISM reactor at the federally owned facility. SRNS is the management and operating contractor for DOE at Savannah River Site (SRS).
Integral fast reactors are potentially deep burn but a new prototype would probably have about 15-22% burn on a once through basis. Which is about 5 times better than current reactors.
Integral fast reactors at wikipedia.
Barry Brook of Brave New Climate really likes Integral Fast Reactors
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Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
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