nuclear-news

Feds eye nuclear-powered EVs: Breakthrough or bad idea?   Miranda Willson, E&E News reporter, December 7, 2020   As researchers and automakers make strides in improving electric vehicle batteries, a future with widespread electric semitrucks seems increasingly possible………

One promising option, according to scientists at Argonne National Laboratory, is small nuclear reactors.

Engineer Derek Kultgen is leading efforts at Argonne to develop a microreactor — about the size of two home water heaters — that is specifically designed to charge electric trucks at rest stops across the country lacking EV charging stations…………   One promising, carbon-free charging option, according to scientists at Argonne National Laboratory, is small nuclear reactors……….

Small nuclear reactors could be ideal for e-truck charging, he said…….

In August, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a final safety evaluation report endorsing NuScale Power’s small modular nuclear reactor design (Greenwire, Aug. 31). …….

Critics, however, say there’s insufficient evidence that small reactors are safer than nuclear power plants. It could also take years before they’re ready to be deployed, whereas new solar and wind resources could be built much more quickly. The microreactor being designed at Argonne, for example, is not being planned for construction at this point.

NuScale’s design is the first to gain approval by the NRC, and even that project is still more than one year away from coming online, said Edwin Lyman, director of nuclear power safety at the Union of Concerned Scientists. Many proposed microreactor applications — including this one from Argonne — are inappropriate uses of nuclear energy, according to Lyman.

“The Department of Energy is desperately trying to think of applications for all sorts of nuclear reactors, no matter how improbable or impractical they are, and I think this is a good example,” he said……..

Cost, security questions

While the concept is worth considering as a potential charging tool, some issues would need to be addressed before truck stop microreactors could become a reality, said Rick Mihelic, director of emerging technologies at the North American Council for Freight Efficiency.

Opposition to nuclear power could delay the distribution of the microreactors, he said. A network of microreactors would also add to the country’s nuclear waste problem, for which there is no permanent disposal solution.

It could be difficult to make the microreactors economical as well. To overcome that barrier, the researchers would need to find a way to mass-produce them, Buongiorno said.

“If they are deployed each a little differently, each built at a different location with a different workforce, then achieving good economics may prove hopeless,” he said.

Opposition to nuclear power could delay the distribution of the microreactors, he said. A network of microreactors would also add to the country’s nuclear waste problem, for which there is no permanent disposal solution.

It could be difficult to make the microreactors economical as well. To overcome that barrier, the researchers would need to find a way to mass-produce them, Buongiorno said.

“If they are deployed each a little differently, each built at a different location with a different workforce, then achieving good economics may prove hopeless,” he said…….   https://www.eenews.net/stories/1063719531