One of the goals of this space is to shed light on big ideas in the industry- even if they aren't Duke Energy's ideas. One of the newest designs in nuclear energy technology is the traveling wave reactor, featured in today's post.
The traveling wave reactor (TWR) is a small glimpse into a big future for nuclear energy. Recently introduced by Bill Gates at the TED conference in 2010, the TWR has enough depleted uranium to produce full power for 60 years or more. One major benefit of these reactors is that the TWRs can get the most out of their fuel without reprocessing and could eliminate the need to enrich uranium.
Bill Gates is a primary investor in TerraPower, a nuclear reactor design company, which is taking the lead on the development of the TWR. TerraPower plans to have a TWR prototype built by 2020, which will produce electricity for the grid in the several-hundred megawatt capacity range. Watch the video below for more information.
July 19, 2011