Moltex plans to use excess electricity in times of low demand to store thermal energy in salts, which can save heat with a modest loss rate of 1 piece per day and generate cost-effective make-up electricity when needed. “People keep saying we need base load power, but that’s no longer true. We need energy that can be switched off, ”he said.
It is controversial whether molten salt reactors are safer. Proponents say they can’t explode because they work at atmospheric pressure. “Our reactor is inherently safe because we use an extremely stable coolant. All nuclear accidents – Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, Fukushima – have been linked to a failure of the cooling system, ”said Mr. Irish of Terrestrial.
However, a study by the UK’s Nuclear Innovation and Research Office (NIRO) earlier this year concluded that such reactors still “have to meet a very high safety standard that may require a second container”.
Dr. Rayment of the National Nuclear Laboratory says molten salt reactors are a tempting idea, but the technology is “very corrosive” and will require years of further research: “The jury cannot agree on whether it will be available in the timeframe we need.”
Fine minds are on the case. The US Argonne and Idaho National Laboratories three years ago called for the “systematic development” of nickel-based alloys that withstand the stresses. It was said that the challenge could be overcome within “four to five years”. This hunt for the right alloy is well advanced.
According to Dr. Rayment is considering four types of advanced generation reactors in the UK for the future, including a high temperature gas reactor operating at 800 degrees that will deliver the same industrial and clean hydrogen benefits as fused salt prototypes.
The risk for the UK is that it will be spread too thinly. Without full conviction, is the government planning several options, with relatively small sums of money and mostly to show, while only serious about the Rolls-Royce consortium? If so, it could be outperformed by Canada, the US, Russia, or China.
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