French energy giant eyes demonstrator that could be massively scaled up at facilities including Hinkley Point and Sizewell

Concise information on key facts relating to nuclear energy.

VTT Technical Research Centre in Finland has today announced the launch of a project to develop a small modular reactor for district heating. Most of the country's district heating is currently produced by burning coal, natural gas, wood fuels and peat, but it aims to phase out its use of coal in energy production by 2029..

VTT noted that decarbonising the district heat production system is "one of the most significant climate challenges faced by many cities". The objective of the project is to create a new Finnish industrial sector around the technology that would be capable of manufacturing most of the components needed for the plant, the company said. Designing the district heating reactor will require expertise from a wide range of Finnish organisations, it added. //

Over the past five years, VTT has been involved in projects examining the opportunities and deployment of SMRs. At the European level, it is coordinating the ELSMOR (European Licensing of Small Modular Reactors) project, launched last year. It is also leading one of the work packages of the European Research and Innovation project McSAFE, launched in September 2017. That project is developing the next generation calculation tools for the modelling of SMR physics.

Putting solar panels on your roof is probably a good investment, no matter where you live. But adding a home battery may do more harm than good. //

The energy produced over the lifetime of rooftop solar panels more than makes up for the energy it takes to make, mount, and eventually recycle them. But adding a home battery can lower those dividends, new research finds. //

Previous studies estimated the energy output at about nine times the energy invested in solar panels. The new study, which appears in Sustainable Energy & Fuels, however, examined the output from a typical rooftop system installed in five diverse American states. Researchers found that the energy payout ratio ranges from a low of 14 in Alaska to a high of 27 in sunny Arizona—but only when homeowners are able to send surplus power to the grid.

When homeowners install a battery and charge it with excess electricity before sending leftovers to the grid, however, the energy return on investment for the entire system is 21 percent less than solar panels alone, researchers found.

When homeowners have no battery and no grid outlet, it just wastes extra electricity. Then, the system’s return on invested energy falls to seven in Alaska and a high of 14 in Florida—on par with earlier studies. Because homeowners in that scenario need to purchase electricity during the evening, adding a standard lithium-ion home battery improves the energy payback. //

Adding batteries to a home photovoltaic system reduces the energy payback of the entire system by 21 percent on average due to two factors. First, adding batteries means more energy in the form of fossil fuels invested in making the entire system. Second, a battery discharges 8 percent less electricity than the amount of electricity required to charge it—a loss compared to sending electricity directly to a larger electricity system with customers who can use the power immediately.

The current study acknowledges the dilemma. “As rooftop solar and large, photovoltaic power stations grow, electricity grids will not be able to accept more afternoon power, unless new uses of cheap afternoon electrons grow,” Benson says.

EDITORS' PICK|4,213 views|Feb 21, 2020,9:10 am
Rolls-Royce Reignites The Race To Build Mini-Nuclear Power Plants
Ariel CohenContributor
Energy
I cover energy, security, Europe, Russia/Eurasia & the Middle East
RR
Rolls-Royce’s Small Modular Reactor (SMR) design[+]
ROLLS-ROYCE
Global manufacturer Rolls-Royce is the latest entrant in the tech race to provide small-scale nuclear power. Last month, the company announced plans to build 10-15 small modular reactors (SMRs) in the United Kingdom by 2029, with each unit compact enough to sit on the back of a tractor-trailer. The plants would be constructed on so-called “brownfield sites” in Cambria and Wales where aging or decommissioned nuclear power stations are still in place. Rolls Royce has thus far received £18 million ($23.1 m) from the British government, and is requesting £200 million ($258 m) more.

As I’ve written about before, SMRs are the next evolutionary step of nuclear power: compact, affordable, quick to construct, emission-less, and even transportable. China has great aspirations to lead in this field, as it does or attempts to do in solar panels, wind energy, 5G communications, MAGLEV trains, artificial intelligence, and more. The UK wants to give China a run for its money.

"We are sidestepping all of the scientific challenges that have held fusion energy back for more than half a century," says the director of an Australian company that claims its hydrogen-boron fusion technology is already working a billion times better than expected.

Idaho National Laboratory today announced it will provide Oklo Inc. with access to recovered spent nuclear fuel to aid the company in its efforts to develop and demonstrate the Oklo Aurora.

As DeWitte also noted, when Oklo submits the license application submission to the NRC, it will be for the nation’s first civilian effort geared to a micro-reactor and non-water reactor. Getting the first site use permit from INL and having the opportunity to work with the HALEU is already “a pretty big step to lining up all the key pieces to be able to demonstrate something in the very early 2020s,” he said. //

High-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU) is nuclear fuel that is enriched to a higher degree (of between 5% and 20%) in the fissile isotope U-235. In comparison, the world’s current fleet of light water reactors (LWRs) typically uses fuel enriched to less than 5% U-235. As experts note, HALEU promises to provide more power per volume than conventional reactors, and its efficiency allows for smaller plant sizes. It also promises longer core life and a higher burn-up rate of nuclear waste.

According to the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), many advanced reactor concepts—including some micro-reactors (many smaller than 10 MW), high temperature gas reactors in the 100-MW to 200-MW range, and salt reactors—may require this type of fuel. HALEU could also be used in existing light water reactors. Though NEI suggests annual commercial requirements for HALEU could soar to a cumulative 185.5 metric tons annually, there is no current supply of HALEU. But because establishing a commercial supply of HALEU would require sufficient demand and a minimum of 7 years to develop fuel cycle infrastructure, the industry trade group has urged the DOE for years to tap into its access of high-enriched uranium and downblend it in the interim to supply HALEU for demonstration purposes. The DOE has heeded these calls and recently ramped up efforts to establish HALEU fuel production capability, noting that in the near future, it will be critical to U.S. leadership, as global competition heats up to design and build small modular reactors as well as larger non-LWR reactors. //

Until a commercial HALEU market is established—which will require that more advanced nuclear reactors clear demonstration and ultimately come online—INL will lead efforts to provide the fuel for research and demonstration. For now, it plans to provide HALEU for Oklo through the recovery and treatment of HEU from used fuel from the 19-MWe EBRII (a demonstration reactor, that operated from 1963 to 1994) that was previously being treated and processed for disposal.

The process to down-blend the HEU to HALEU involves a three-step electrometallurgical treatment. First, the irradiated fuel is prepared and place into a molten salt electrorefiner, which facilitates recovery of uranium metal from fission products and transuranics. Then, the recovered uranium undergoes vacuum distillation to remove electrorefiner salt and is down blended to an enrichment of less than 20% U-235. Finally, the recovered uranium metal is configured to support fuel fabrication by reheating and casting it into low-dose, reduced-size HALEU “regulus.” //

Another interesting aspect about this announcement “is that it shows you can actually reuse [spent nuclear fuel (SNF)],” DeWitte noted. That aspect is important because nuclear waste management in the U.S. has stalled for nearly three decades, owing largely to a political impasse on the disposal of SNF. Today, according to the NEI, more than 84,000 metric tons of SNF is temporarily being stored in pools and casks in 35 states.

Oklo, developer of a 1.5-MW passive compact fast reactor, will be the first to receive high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU) nuclear fuel from Idaho //

Oklo recently acquired a site permit to build the design pictured at Idaho National Laboratory facility in Idaho Falls. //

Oklo, developer of a 1.5-MW passive compact fast reactor, will be the first to receive high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU) nuclear fuel from Idaho National Laboratory (INL) to aid a first-of-its-kind demonstration of its Aurora microreactor, which could begin in 2024.

Marking a significant boost for advanced nuclear innovation, which industry experts are banking on to transform nuclear’s future role in a rapidly changing power sector, INL on Feb. 19 said that it will give the Silicon Valley–based advanced nuclear reactor developer access to processed and treated used fuel recovered from the now-decommissioned Experimental Breeder Reactor-II (EBR-II).

Downblended to a uranium enrichment of less than 20%, and still owned by the Department of Energy (DOE), the HALEU will stay at INL’s site in Idaho Falls, Idaho, where Oklo last year received a site use permit to build its Aurora plant. The site use permit, which will be effective for the lifetime of the plant, was the first, and still the only, such permit issued for a non-light-water nuclear reactor in the U.S. //

Several micro-reactors with capacities below 10 MW (by comparison, small modular reactor [SMR] capacities hover between 60 MW and 300 MW) are under development worldwide; one of the biggest hurdles to quick deployment relates to fuel supply.

The Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) notes that the commercial nuclear fuel industry currently only produces fuel enriched up to 5% by weight of U-235, but that some micro-reactors will use fuel enriched up to 20% by weight of U-235, known as “HALEU.” But because establishing a commercial supply of HALEU would require sufficient demand and a minimum of 7 years to develop fuel cycle infrastructure, the industry trade group has urged the DOE for years to tap into its access of high-enriched uranium and downblend it in the interim to supply HALEU for demonstration purposes.

As Dr. John Wagner, associate laboratory director for INL’s Nuclear Science & Technology directorate, noted on Wednesday, the benefit of using nuclear fuels with higher levels of U-235 is that it allows reactors to operate for years without having to be refueled. “That is an important attribute since this technology is envisioned to be used in remote areas that can be difficult to access.”

Energy IQ : Five insights into the future of energy for independent power producers – Part II

No. #3: Africa offers vast opportunities for power producersPace of Growth in Demand graph

Demand for electricity generation is forecasted to grow in Africa faster than any other region. A mix of factors including over half a billion people to join the continent’s urban population, increased access to electricity and expanding mineral extraction activities drive this demand.

Africa is also well positioned to find the fuels to fulfill this need. On the renewables side, Africa is solar rich, yet only less than 1% of the world’s installed solar capacity is in Africa, offering vast opportunities for power producers. When it comes to low carbon fuels, Africa benefitted from recent discoveries of gas deposits. In fact, 40% of global gas discoveries from 2010 to 2018 were in Africa.

No. 1: Cost of energy continues to be a critical lever to deliver superior financials for health care facilities

No. 2: Health care facilities can improve financial performance and resiliency with emerging power system technologies such as microgrids

No. 3: Health care facility leaders leverage digitization of power systems to manage their facilities

The United Arab Emirates took a final step toward switching on the Arab world’s first commercial nuclear power plant, even as the country prospers by producing and selling fossil fuels. //

Built and run by a joint venture with Korea Electric Power Corp., the plant can now start loading fuel and ramp up to full commercial operation within several months. Other Arab countries, notably Saudi Arabia and Egypt, are also pushing into nuclear power in spite of questions about cost and safety.

“Barakah was meant to be the showcase for the international nuclear industry,” said Mycle Schneider, an independent analyst. “Grid connection is at least three years late, and there is no doubt that it is way over budget.”

Barakah is the first of four civilian reactors that the government plans to fire up by 2023. The plants, located on a sparsely populated strip of desert on the Persian Gulf coast, are estimated to cost $25 billion. The U.A.E. expects them to produce as much as 5.6 gigawatts once they’re fully commissioned, or almost a fifth of the country’s current installed generating capacity.

Total Funding
$63.2 M

VionX Energy offers a long-lasting, more durable solution for grid-scale energy storage customers. And its performance is guaranteed. Originally developed in partnership with United Technologies Corporation, Vionx’s exclusively licensed vanadium redox flow battery offers a safe and flexible solution built to exacting utility standards so that it will continue to perform for 20 years and beyond.
The Company's core technology employs a patented battery stack design with a well-proven vanadium redox flow chemistry that, unlike Li-ion, does not lose capacity over time, and never requires augmentation. The system’s highly modularized separation of capacity and electrolyte can be scaled independently to meet the needed application including the ability to dispatch over an entire peak load period. The result is a virtual peaker without the high cost or price volatility of fossil fuels.

Information on valuation, funding, cap tables, investors, and executives for Vionx Energy. Use the PitchBook Platform to explore the full profile.

Manufacturer of power and energy storage products created to optimize proven flow battery technology to deliver long run-time and cost-competitive operation. The company offers energy management systems and regenerative fuel cells with direct current output power. It also provides factory start-up, preventive maintenance, on-site and operation and maintenance training services.

Introducing Inc.'s 25 Most Disruptive Companies of the Year! Check out why Vionx Energy made the list.

A vanadium/mining industry PR firm has visited the site of an in development 200MW/800MWh vanadium flow battery in Dalian, China and noted that site work is ongoing. They also stated that most of the product that will fill the site – the vanadium batteries – is already built in the manufacturer’s nearby factory.

This battery is currently the largest planned chemical battery in the world, and part of a Chinese government investment to spur the technology.

The 200MW/800MWh vanadium flow battery (VFB) is manufactured by Rongke Power. Note in the featured image, which is the manufacturer’s facility, there are many solar panels, and a car port – probably has electric car charging spots under there as well.

The battery’s purpose is to provide power during peak hours of demand, to enhance grid stability and deliver juice during black-start conditions in case of emergency. The system is expected to peak-shave about 8% of Dalian’s expected load when it comes online in 2020. //

Right now [2017], it seems tech savvy people always bring up flow batteries when talking about large-scale grid applications. No degradation over 20 years is a pretty impressive feat from the perspective of an electricity utility or a financial analyst. 15,000 cycles – one per day – would be 41 years of usage. And from what I’ve read, you can repair the pieces that break.

I’ve also read that vanadium flow batteries already cost well below $500/kWh – and that some hope to see $150/kWh by 2020. That’s a competitive product. And if utilities like it better because it scales easier and has a longer lifetime, renewables will benefit.

Workers have completed the final concrete placement inside the containment vessel of unit 3 at the Vogtle nuclear power plant near Waynesboro, Georgia. Georgia Power said this allows for the installation of machinery that will be used to load fuel into the AP1000 reactor, which is scheduled to enter service in November 2021.

In 2018, global nuclear power generation increased by 2.4%, primarily due to a 19% increase in China where seven new reactors were brought online. Despite that, nuclear’s share of global electricity generation has continued its slow decline from a historical peak of about 17.5% in 1996 to 10.15% in 2018. Meanwhile, renewables are thriving with a record 165 GW added to the world’s power grids in 2018 compared to a 9 GW uptake in nuclear operating capacity. The number of new nuclear reactors under construction globally has now declined for the sixth year in a row, from 68 at the end of 2013 to 46 by mid-2019, of which 10 are in China.

Explore energy data by category, indicator, country or region Total primary energy supply (TPES) by source, World 1990-2017

Powering up our world

with cheap, reliable, CO2-free electric power, now.

What is ThorCon? ThorCon is a molten salt fission reactor. Unlike all current nuclear reactors, the fuel is in liquid form. It can be moved around with a pump and passively drained. This 500 MW fission power plant is encapsulated in a hull, built in a shipyard, towed to a shallow water site, ballasted to the seabed. Visit Design.

Ready to Go. ThorCon requires no new technology. ThorCon is a straightforward scale-up of the successful United States Oak Ridge National Laboratory Molten Salt Reactor Experiment (MSRE). A full-scale 500 MW ThorCon prototype can be operating under test within four years. After proving the plant safely handles multiple potential failures and problems, commercial power plant production can begin. Visit MSRE.

Rapidly Deployable. The complete ThorCon is manufactured in 150 to 500 ton blocks in a shipyard, assembled, then towed to the site. This produces order of magnitude improvements in productivity, quality control, and build time. A single large reactor yard can turn out twenty gigawatts of ThorCon power plants per year. ThorCon is a system for building power plants. Visit Production.

Fixable. Everything in the fission island except the structure itself is replaceable with little interruption in power output. Every four years the entire primary loop is changed out, returned to a centralized recycling facility, decontaminated, disassembled, inspected, and refurbished. Incipient problems are caught before they can turn into casualties. Upgrades can be introduced without significantly disrupting power generation. Visit Fuel.

Walkaway Safe. ThorCon fuel is in liquid form. If the reactor overheats for whatever reason, ThorCon will shut itself down, and passively handle the decay heat. No power, no machinery, no operator action is required. This is built into the reactor physics. The operators can do nothing to prevent safe shutdown and cooling. ThorCon has at least three gas tight barriers between the fuelsalt and the atmosphere. The reactor operates at garden hose pressure. In the event of a primary loop rupture, there is no dispersal energy and no phase change. The spilled fuel merely flows to a drain tank where it is passively cooled. The most troublesome fission products, including Sr-90 and Cs-137, are chemically bound to the salt. They will end up in the drain tank as well. Visit Safety.