Crude oil transportation: Pick your poison

Mon, Aug 26, 2024, 8:16PMNuclear NewsJames Conca
The 2015 CSX Transportation crude oil train derailment and fire in Mount Carbon, W. Va. (Photo: CPO Angie Vallier/U.S. Coast Guard)

We all know that nuclear energy is the best energy source available—the safest and most reliable with the lowest life-cycle carbon footprint and the lowest environmental impact of any source, according to the latest UN report (unece.org/sites/default/files/2021-11/LCA_final.pdf).

Removing the training wheels

Thu, Aug 22, 2024, 4:53PMNuclear NewsCraig Piercy

Craig Piercy
cpiercy@ans.org

Duck, N.C.—A summer beach vacation with the extended family: There’s nothing else quite like it, reliving old memories and developing a greater appreciation for how others felt about them at that moment. One particular topic came up at our multigenerational dinner the other night: “Describe your experience of riding on a two-wheel bike for the first time.”

Among the Gen Z crowd at the table, we heard stories of stitched up chins and falls into prickly bushes. However, despite a few harrowing starts, all are now confident twentysomething cyclists with no residual trauma.

The parents’ recollections of events seemed more sober. After all, there are few parental experiences more fraught than teaching your child to ride a two-wheeled bike. It’s as scary as it is unavoidable.

Nuclear new build procurement considerations

Fri, Aug 16, 2024, 8:02PMNuclear NewsMarc Tannenbaum

It may seem counterintuitive, but the best time to enhance the ability to support operations and maintenance for a new plant is before construction starts. This is one of many lessons learned by the currently operating nuclear fleet. As construction and startup of many nuclear facilities was completed, it quickly became evident that the ability to efficiently support operations and maintenance was limited. Most of the information necessary to establish and manage procurement of spare and replacement items, maintenance, and configuration of the facilities was unavailable and had to be gathered on a case-by-case, “on-demand” basis. Absence of necessary information and the associated challenges resulted in the need for staff augmentation and multiyear-long projects to develop equipment bills of material and maintenance programs and to perform technical evaluations for the huge quantities of spare and replacement items being requested.

The Peach Bottom-1 HTGR

Thu, Aug 15, 2024, 12:37PMNuclear NewsJeremy Hampshire
Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, Unit 1. (Photo: NRC)

The first high-temperature, gas-cooled reactor ever built in the United States was Unit 1 at the Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station. This demonstration plant, located on the Susquehanna River approximately 80 miles southwest of Philadelphia, Pa., was tasked with validating HTGR design codes. It produced over 1.2 million megawatt-hours of electricity over 1,349 equivalent full-power days (EFPDs), which was distributed by the Philadelphia Electric Company.

Nuclear supply chain innovation and collaboration: Keeping the nuclear supply chain viable through change

Fri, Aug 9, 2024, 8:00PMNuclear NewsDoug VanTassell

The next nuclear renaissance may be upon us, but with it comes a perfect storm. The industry is unprepared for a surge in demand for goods and services from both the existing light water fleet and the next generation of reactors. We are currently teetering on the edge of severe supply chain issues, but if the nuclear industry can understand the sources of our challenges, we can mitigate them.

Energy is everything

Thu, Aug 8, 2024, 8:00PMNuclear NewsLisa Marshall

Lisa Marshall
president@ans.org

Energy is the foundation of modern society. It enhances quality of life and drives industrialization. As we work toward fuller energy transition, policies are essential to organizing our march forward. Bipartisan legislation is doing just that, propelling our current and future actions.

The Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy (ADVANCE) Act will help propel the work of industry, academia, and several branches of government in exciting—and necessary—directions.

The Senate introduced the act in March 2023, and the House of Representatives passed the Fire Grants and Safety Act, which incorporated the ADVANCE Act, on May 9, 2024 (393–13). Then on June 18, the Senate passed the ADVANCE Act (88–2), and on July 9, President Biden signed the bill into law. New and revised approaches to process and deployment of nuclear energy capacity is well on its way. Below, I have highlighted a few title sections to show scope and significance.

The JT-60SA project

Fri, Aug 2, 2024, 8:01PMNuclear NewsTakahiro Suzuki
Fig. 1. A photograph (left) and schematic figure (right) of JT-60SA. (Source: Naka Institute)

JT-60SA (Japan Torus-60 Super Advanced) is the world’s largest superconducting tokamak device. Its goal is the earlier realization of fusion energy (see Fig. 1). Fusion is the energy that powers the Sun, and just 1 gram of deuterium-tritium (D-T) fuel produces enormous energy—the equivalent of 8 tons of crude oil.

Last fall, the JT-60SA project announced an important milestone: the achievement of the tokamak’s first plasma. This article describes the objectives of the JT-60SA project, achievements in the operation campaign for the first plasma, and next steps.

Subsequent license renewal critical to meeting U.S. climate goals

Fri, Aug 2, 2024, 12:01PMNuclear NewsDoug Lawrence

Doug Lawrence

As the United States intensifies its efforts to combat climate change and transition to a low-carbon energy future, the role of nuclear energy has never been more critical.

One key strategy in this transition is the subsequent license renewal (SLR) of our existing nuclear power plants, allowing them to operate for up to 80 years. This extension brings several significant benefits.

Continued low-carbon energy production—By extending the life of existing nuclear power plants, we ensure a steady supply of low-carbon energy, reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and helping meet our nation’s emission reduction targets. Given that nuclear power currently provides nearly 20 percent of the U.S. electricity supply and more than half of its low-carbon electricity, maintaining this capacity is vital for a sustainable energy future.

Taking shape: Fusion energy ecosystems built with public-private partnerships

Fri, Jul 26, 2024, 8:03PMNuclear News

It’s possible to describe fusion in simple terms: heat and squeeze small atoms to get abundant clean energy. But there’s nothing simple about getting fusion ready for the grid.

Private developers, national lab and university researchers, suppliers, and end users working toward that goal are developing a range of complex technologies to reach fusion temperatures and pressures, confounded by science and technology gaps linked to plasma behavior; materials, diagnostics, and electronics for extreme environments; fuel cycle sustainability; and economics.

The fire that powers the universe: Harnessing inertial fusion energy

Fri, Jul 19, 2024, 8:06PMNuclear NewsBenny Evangelista and Charlie Osolin
Concept art showing an IFE power plant of the future. (Image: Eric Smith/LLNL)

It was a laser shot for the ages. By achieving fusion ignition on December 5, 2022, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory proved that recreating the “fire” that fuels the sun and the stars inside a laboratory on Earth was indeed scientifically possible.

Fast burst reactors: A historical primer

Fri, Jul 12, 2024, 12:02PMNuclear NewsJeremy Hampshire
The Godiva I device, an unreflected 54-kg sphere of 93.7 percent pure uranium-235, before (left [in the scrammed state]), and after (right) the February 3, 1954, criticality excursion that released 5.6 × 1016 neutrons and warped or broke several support structures of the device. (Photos: DOE)

Fast burst reactors were the first fast-spectrum research reactors to reach criticality by using only prompt neutrons with high-enriched uranium as fuel, creating a pulse for microseconds. Among many achievements, fast burst reactors were the first research reactors to demonstrate the ability of thermal expansion to terminate a pulse and to show how this could aid in reactor safety. In addition, fast burst reactors were pivotal in early fission studies including critical mass determination, criticality safety, the study of prompt and delayed neutrons, and much more.

Fusion is real, and it’s now

Mon, Jul 8, 2024, 2:30PMNuclear NewsLauren Garrison

Lauren Garrison

We have seen many advancements in the fusion field in the past handful of years. In 2021, the National Academies released a report titled Bringing Fusion to the U.S. Grid.a In March 2022, the White House held a first-ever fusion forum, “Developing a Bold Decadal Vision for Commercial Fusion Energy.”b The National Ignition Facility had a record-setting fusion pulse that achieved more power output than the laser input, called ignition, in December 2022.c The Department of Energy’s Office of Fusion Energy Sciences (FES) started a new public-private partnership program, the fusion milestone program, in May 2023 that made awards to eight fusion companies in a cost-share model.d That same summer, FES got a new associate director, Dr. Jean Paul Allain,e who has announced intentions for changing the structure of the FES office to better embrace an energy mission for fusion while keeping the strong foundation in basic science and non-fusion plasmas. ITER construction has continued, with various parts being delivered and systems finished. For example, the civil engineering of the tokamak building was completed in September 2023 after 10 years of work.f Even more fusion companies have been founded, and the Fusion Industry Association has 37 members now.g

Props and jets

Wed, Jul 3, 2024, 12:01PMNuclear NewsCraig Piercy

Craig Piercy
cpiercy@ans.org

A good bit of this month’s edition of Nuclear News is devoted to the latest developments in fusion energy.

While 2024 may not have the punchy investment headlines of ’22, I think it’s fair to say that fusion energy technology is making tangible progress beneath the surface, with unannounced stealth funding plans and the continuation of public-private partnerships.

When will it become a productive element of our global energy architecture? No one knows for sure. There are still myriad challenges to be solved in high-temperature ­materials, high–critical temperature superconductors, advanced algorithms, and tritium fuel cycle control, just to name a few. But every day, fusion feels a tiny bit more mature, like somehow it has left its childhood bedroom in physics to move into the dorm room of engineering.

“You’ve got this; we’ve got this”

Mon, Jul 1, 2024, 12:01PMNuclear NewsLisa Marshall

Lisa Marshall
president@ans.org

Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your American Nuclear Society president. The support from within the Society, academia, professional organizations, and international partners has been heartwarming. Students have expressed joy about what the future holds, and they are ready, as am I, to be part of keeping the industry moving forward.

The year 2001 was pivotal for me; it represented my start in nuclear engineering. My career has centered around precollege and university students. To be cliché, they are our future, and we must continue to support their maturation in the field and in ANS. My cup is full when students thrive, and the Society has made many gains in this arena. We have a robust K-12 STEM program that continues to be refined, and partners among educators and organizations that strengthen the routes into the discipline.

NRC engineers share their expertise at the University of Puerto Rico

Fri, Jun 28, 2024, 7:56PMNuclear News
Marcos Rolón-Acevedo (left) and Robert Roche-Rivera pose at UPRM at the beginning of their adjunct professorships in August 2023. (Photo: NRC/UPRM)

Robert Roche-Rivera and Marcos Rolón-Acevedo are licensed professional engineers who work at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. They are also alumni of the University of Puerto Rico–Mayagüez (UPRM) and have been sharing their knowledge and experience with students at their alma mater since last year, serving as adjunct professors in the university’s Department of Mechanical Engineering. During the 2023–2024 school year, they each taught two courses: Fundamentals of Nuclear Science and Engineering, and Nuclear Power Plant Engineering.

Seabed mining for critical metals: A brilliant idea, or another environmental catastrophe?

Thu, Jun 27, 2024, 5:00PMNuclear NewsJames Conca
Several-inch-diameter manganese nodules just sit on the ocean floor and can be collected with little to no actual mining, as opposed to severe mining on land. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Regardless of how you power our grid or how you attempt to decarbonize our economy, we will need many various metals to achieve any future, or even to just continue with business as usual. Critical metals like cobalt, lithium, nickel, and neodymium are essential to a low-carbon-energy future if renewables and electric vehicles are to play a large role.1 Even if nuclear provides 100 percent of our power, just operating the grid and electrifying most sectors will take huge amounts of critical metals like copper, notwithstanding the fact that nuclear power requires the least amount of metals and other materials of any energy source.

Argonne National Laboratory’s thermal reactor program in Idaho

Wed, Jun 26, 2024, 12:00PMNuclear NewsR. N. Blomquist

In May’s Nuclear News (p. 86), we reviewed Argonne National Laboratory’s comprehensive work on fast reactors in Idaho. In this article, we summarize the light water reactor work there.1

In the early days, there were few data on the behavior of reactor materials under severe neutron bombardment. In collaboration, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory developed the Materials Testing Reactor (MTR) for the National Reactor Testing Station (NRTS) in Idaho. The materials tested in it over the course of 15,000 experiments were reactor fuel materials, structures, cooling systems, and shields. It operated from 1952 to 1970.

USA’s John Christensen on the supply chain and other things

Fri, Jun 21, 2024, 8:00PMNuclear NewsRick Michal

Christensen

The conversation was casual with John Christensen, president and chief executive officer of Utilities Service Alliance, as he reflected on his 17 years with the organization. Christensen will be stepping down from USA to retire at the end of the year. He will be succeeded as president and CEO/managing director by Karen Fili, most recently with Urenco USA.

USA is a nonprofit organization incorporated in 1996 to provide its utility and nonutility members a business platform to collaborate on plant performance and economic benefit initiatives. Currently, USA members include 39 nuclear reactors (and one uranium enrichment plant) that provide more than 39,650 MWe of generation. As Christensen explained, USA members get the best of both worlds: the fleet benefits by working with USA while keeping the flexibility of independent operator status. (See the sidebar below for a members list.)

Words from Westinghouse: The nuclear supply chain impacts and challenges

Fri, Jun 7, 2024, 8:04PMNuclear NewsGuest Contributor
A cut-away view of Westinghouse’s AP300 reactor. (Image: Westinghouse)

Power generation from nuclear fission as a clean and stable source of electricity has secured the interest of policymakers and industry leaders around the globe. Last fall, the United States spearheaded a pledge at COP28 to get countries to agree to triple nuclear capacity worldwide, and recently the members of the Group of 7 (G7) nations that currently use nuclear power have reaffirmed their pledges to invest in that power source to cut carbon emissions.

As of this writing, U.S. policymakers are trying to make good on that promise by passing legislation to support nuclear power, funding the domestic fuel supply chain, and working to pass the ADVANCE Act. On top of the support from Washington, D.C., power-hungry industries like data centers and chemical engineering are looking to secure stable, carbon-free power directly from power plants.