Last week, at an event at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TerraPower revealed officially, that it is seriously looking into another advanced nuclear reactor concept: the molten salt reactor. The first hints were given already in 2013. But now ‘The molten chloride reactor has bubbled up to the point where we’ve gotten more serious about it’, sums Jeff Latkowski, TerraPower’s director of innovation.
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Innovating to zero!
Terra Power, a start-up spin-off from Intellectual Ventures, and backed up by Bill Gates, has been developing its traveling wave reactor concept since the company was founded 6 years ago. A working prototype has not, however, yet been produced.
Last week, at an event at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TerraPower revealed officially, that it is seriously looking into another advanced nuclear reactor concept: the molten salt reactor. The first hints were given already in 2013. But now ‘The molten chloride reactor has bubbled up to the point where we’ve gotten more serious about it’, sums Jeff Latkowski, TerraPower’s director of innovation. We are pleased to welcome TerraPower among the growing group of companies developing molten salt reactors, highly suitable for using thorium as a fuel, and look forward to updates on their progress. In his 2010 TED talk, Bill Gates said the world needs ‘Energy Miracles’ to supply the future demand, and sees nuclear as a necessary base load energy component. The combination of dedicated efforts, serious funding, and choice of thorium fuel cycle has the potential to materialize into the energy miracle Gates is asking for. See Bill Gates talk about his vision for the world’s energy future and ‘Energy Miracles’ needed at a TED talk delivered in February 2010:
Read more about TerraPower and Bill Gates in our previous posts:
Bill Gates invests in thorium capable reactor venture Bill Gates TerraPower negotiates with Toshiba Bill Gates in talks with China to build reactor |