Very, very cool. Glad to see innovation.
"The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has approved the construction of the first-ever molten-salt reactor that will power the grid in the US. The approval was granted to Kairos Power, which is currently building the Hermes Low-Power Demonstration Reactor at the Heritage Center Industrial Park in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
Generation IV nuclear power is the umbrella term for nuclear fission technology, which is designed to avert the leak of radioactive material even in extreme scenarios such as earthquakes and generates energy with much higher fuel efficiency.
Molten-salt reactors are one of the many different approaches that scientists are using to achieve Gen IV nuclear power. Here, the nuclear fuel is either mixed in molten salt or embedded in graphite, while the molten salt is used as a coolant, and the operation proceeds at high temperatures. Kairos Power uses the latter approach for its Hermes reactors. "
#nuclear #energy #climate #technology
Interesting Engineering
Hermes 2: US launches molten-salt nuclear reactor to power the grid
Tennessee-based Kairos Power will build Hermes-2, a molten salt reactor to supply carbon-free energy to the grid in the US.
