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Center for Nonlinear Studies |
More than sixty years after "Atoms for Peace", civilian nuclear energy has been providing the world with a reliable base-load power, once peaked at near 18% share of the electricity generation. As the world's energy structure is moving toward clean and low-carbon sources, nuclear power is considered by many to be a readily deployable option. Yet significant growth is taking place only in a few countries at the present. We will examine the history and causes of this phenomenon from the nuclear safety-economics perspective, borrow insight from advances in other power generation technologies and systems, and perform system engineering to seek solutions. Based on existing technologies and recent innovations in fuels and reactor designs, we are working toward a paradigm shift in nuclear energy that provides ultra safe small and micro modular reactors for rapid and broad deployment, and very efficient breed-and-burn reactors for sustainable growth that will greatly simplify and eventually close the fuel cycles.
Host: Robert Ecke