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NN Asks: What hurdles stand in the way of nuclear power’s global expansion?
Jake Jurewicz
Nuclear technology is mature. It provides firm power at scale with minimal externalities and has done so for decades. The core problem isn’t about the technology—it is how the plants are built. Nuclear construction has a well-documented history of cost and schedule overruns. Previous nuclear plants often spent more than twice what was first budgeted, making nuclear among the power technologies with the largest average cost overruns worldwide.
Recent projects illustrate how severe the problem can be. In South Carolina, the V.C. Summer nuclear expansion saw projected costs rise from roughly $10 billion to more than $25 billion before the project was abandoned in 2017, by which time more than $9 billion had already been spent and customers were stuck paying for a site they have yet to benefit from.
Mark Schvaneveldt, Tyler Williams, Ranon Fuller, Devin Rappleye
Nuclear Technology | Volume 210 | Number 8 | August 2024 | Pages 1464-1474
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2023.2299908
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Chloride volatility processes for purifying actinide and rare earth elements have historically required the use of Cl2 tanks. To minimize the hazards associated with these processes, an apparatus was designed to produce Cl2 via molten salt electrolysis. Within this apparatus, one can generate Cl2, chlorinate metals, and consume excess Cl2. Here, electrode materials were tested for their ability to generate Cl2, the composition of the gaseous electrolysis product was evaluated using a quadrupole mass spectrometer, and a Ce foil sample was successfully chlorinated using the electrochemically generated Cl2.