Hyperion Mini Nuclear Reactor Set to Transform Power Generation

Hyperion Mini Nuclear Reactor Set to Transform Power Generation

www.nextenergynews.com

A small portable nuclear reactor about the size of a phone booth could be the key to securing America's energy future. The Hyperion nuclear battery is filled with an uranium hydride core and surrounded by a hydrogen atmosphere. The self sufficient nuclear generator is simply buried underground and hooked up to a steam turbine it generates enough electricity to power a 25,000-home community for at least five years.

The nuclear battery cannot overheat and has no mechanical function to maintain. The company is expecting to produce 4000 units in the next 3 years, which could provide 100GW of p

(visit the link for the full news article)

It is amazing, I feel that the future of the world is leaning on nuclear reactors that are safe and can virtually run forever as long as we keep feeding it uranium which the government makes in abundance. I mean just think about it, these reactors are getting smaller and smaller, and sooner or later will be able to fit in you're car and will allow for you to drive for as long as you want for 20+ years before you need to reload the uranium reactor fuel, which by then new technology would be so much advanced from even that it is mind boggling. What are you're thoughts on where nuclear power is going?

www.nextenergynews.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

So there is no apparent danger at all? Couldn't erosion of the casing allow a leak of the "atmosphere"?

Originally posted by LunchBocks
So there is no apparent danger at all? Couldn't erosion of the casing allow a leak of the "atmosphere"?

No, it is sealed with anti-erosion medals.

a nuclear battery...its brilliant. just think if the US offered these to Iran to get them to close down their nuclear program. this invention alone lessens the demand for oil, so the US can at limit its greed for some time and leave Iran alone to buy these mini reactors. there's a lot of potential political advantages that can be achieved from an invention like this. its everything developing countries need and want but smaller, safer, and easier to maintain. Its great for reducing overall energy consumption while bolstering the potential economy of the communities that benefit from the batteries directly. im not too sure, but isn't there a way to use the uranium found in weapons as energy as well? because then it would do wonders for nuclear disarmament. these could probably sell for millions too, so think how much that would help the US economy if they sold thousands all over the world. stop selling weapons, start selling energy. of course there's all the risk involved too when talking about portable nuclear reactors :/.

reply to post by asperetty


Lol that would never work. How could you Iran ever blow up Israel with a Nuclear battery.

Originally posted by TaxpayersUnleashed
reply to post by asperetty

 

Lol that would never work. How could you Iran ever blow up Israel with a Nuclear battery.

the same way that a large nuclear reactor could i guess? but that wasn't my point. the risk i was talking about is environmental. the point of giving the reactors to Iran is because they claim their program is for peaceful energy reasons, and here you got something cheaper and smaller and easier to manage for localities which might be a a seemingly securer option in a place like Iran, and a good investment on Iran's part (and the US) if they truly believe in peace.

Naybe they could tie a few together and kick them out the back door of a C 130 though i hear that parts for these are scarce to none in tehran.....
Isnt there some kind of wash machine sized fuel cell technology about to hit the market as well?
Aparently you will be able to stack the units according to your power requirements.
All one has to do then is add some combustable fuel to it and it makes power.....
Though it isnt the nuclear end all it may be more practical on some applications....perhaps for smaller more isolated power requirements?

Hmm... very interesting. I do believe that nuclear is the future. Nuclear reactions and potentially fusion reactions. I'm pretty sure that we won't have to worry about energy in the near future.

Just when the tipping point seems to be getting close, we overcome with better technology. Evolution is such a wonderful thing...how can people hate it?

Hyperion to build small modular reactor at Savannah River

Originally posted by C0bzz

During a press conference Thursday Savannah river nuclear solutions announced they are taking the first steps to transform America’s energy of future, and that Dr. Terry Michalske will be the new laboratory’s new leader.

In a partnership with Hyperion power, the plan is to develop a mini nuclear reactor at Savannah River site.

"The Hyperion power module developed at SNRS can be plugged into small villages around the world. To provide electricity, purify water and help elevate the standard of living for those people."

www2.wjbf.com...

Hyperion Power Generation has agreed to build a prototype mini-nuclear
reactor at a US Department of Energy small modular reactor demonstration
complex, officials said Thursday.

The company signed a memorandum of understanding with the Savannah River
National Laboratory Thursday to build the first demonstration reactor at the
Savannah River Site in South Carolina.

Hyperion is developing a 25-MW fast reactor that uses uranium nitride
fuel and lead bismuth eutectic coolant.

www.platts.com...

What is the Hyperion Power Module?

1. It will handle any accident through a combination of inherent and engineered features
2. Inherent negative feedback keeps the reactor stable and operating at a constant temperature
3. Sited underground, out of sight
4. Proliferation-resistant; never opened once installed. Transported back to the factory to refueling.
5. 70 megawatt thermal, 25 megawatt electric. Enough for over 20,000 homes.
6. Can be transported by rail, ship, or truck from the factory where it will be mass produced. The coolant solidifies after the reactor has been shut down, meaning it will be like a massive block of lead. No irradiation of the public will result, even in the event of an accident during transportation.
7. Outlet temperature of 500 degrees. Current reactors operate at 350 degrees. This allows new uses for the reactor, such as industrial process heat for shale oil extraction.
8. Doesn't need refueling for 8-10 years.
9. 3% the size of a typical reactor. It's still large machine though.
10. Coolant is at atmospheric pressure. Won't boil away if it gets too hot, won't flash to steam or anything silly like that.
11. If combined with advanced fuel reprocessing, it's conceivable that this reactor would create very little nuclear waste that only lasts 500 years, or it could even consume nuclear waste as fuel.

source:
www.hyperionpowergeneration.com...
www.gen-4.org...

I was skeptical that the project would ever get off the ground, but I am very happy that it has. Basically, the problem with current reactors is they are too large, and often cost more than the utility that wants to built them. If the project fails, then often the utility itself will go bust. And if the utility doesn't have experience building reactors, then there will be difficulty obtaining finance (or there will be very high interest rate) may require government intervention to obtain financing. On top of that, they require fairly extensive safety systems which add large costs. This solves all this - it's designed to be smaller, cheaper, safer, and less risky. Of course, there's a possibility that this project doesn't succeed. Anyway, hopefully more prototype reactors of different kinds are built (especially the type in my signature - the Integral Fast Reactor).

Thanks.

The company is expecting to produce 4000 units in the next 3 years

That will certainly not happen at least for this decade.

________________________________________________________________________________________

General Electric is offering a reasonably similar nuclear reactor, however instead of being 25 megawatts (electric) like Hyperion, two reactors will turn a single generator of around 700 megawatts electric. It will use liquid sodium as a coolant, and is specifically designed to consume nuclear waste as fuel. I created a thread on the technology here.

Prototype Prism proposed for Savannah River

A key attribute of Prism technology is that it generates additional electricity from recycling used nuclear fuel. The reactor's fuel - metal plutonium and depleted uranium - is obtained from the used fuel from light water reactors. Fuel stays in the Prism reactor for about six years, with one-third removed every two years. Used Prism fuel is recycled after removal of fission products.

www.world-nuclear-news.org...

Plentiful Energy and the IFR Story
- Charles E. Till

In the decade from 1984 to 1994, scientists at Argonne National Laboratory developed an advanced technology that promised safe nuclear power unlimited by fuel supplies, with a waste product sharply reduced both in radioactive lifetime and amount. The program, called the IFR, was cancelled suddenly in 1994, before the technology could be perfected in every detail. Its story is not widely known, nor are its implications widely appreciated. It is a story well worth telling, and this series of articles does precisely that.

The Integral Fast Reactor, or IFR, was a developmental program for a new nuclear power technology, one with very desirable characteristics not possessed by the current generation of nuclear reactors. The work was done at Argonne National Laboratory, just outside Chicago, and at Argonne's large reactor development facilities in the desert in southeastern Idaho.

Taken together, the characteristics of this new technology amounted to a revolutionary improvement in the prospects for nuclear power for the generation of electricity in the massive amounts necessary in the future. It held out the possibility of revolutionary improvement in literally all the important areas of nuclear power: fuel efficiency, safety, waste, and non-proliferation characteristics.

The name Integral Fast Reactor described the principal characteristics of the technology: the word Integral was chosen to denote the fact that every element of a complete nuclear power system was being developed simultaneously, and each was an integral part of the whole: The reactor itself, the processes for treatment of the spent fuel as it is replaced by new fuel, the fabrication of the new fuel, and the treatment of the waste to put it in final form suitable for disposal�all were an integral part of the development and the product. Nothing was to be left behind to be developed later. No detail was to be left hanging, unresolved, to raise problems later, as had been the case in present generation of nuclear power. (The word Fast simply denotes technical characteristics of the neutrons in reactor operation, useful to know but not central to this discussion.)

www.sustainablenuclear.org...

I mean just think about it, these reactors are getting smaller and smaller, and sooner or later will be able to fit in you're car and will allow for you to drive for as long as you want for 20+ years before you need to reload the uranium reactor fuel, which by then new technology would be so much advanced from even that it is mind boggling.

While it is a 'small' nuclear reactor, keep in mind that it generates 25 megawatts of electricity. On average it will generate the same amount of electricity as approximately 9 of these:


(650 feet tall)

It will probably cost about 100 million dollars per unit in the US. Probably less than half that in Asia though. Also I don't think a nuclear reactor in a car would be a good idea and it probably isn't possible.

Very interesting indeed, I was always hoping the future would lead to better renewable energy sources, but this is a great way to use up all that nuclear waste. It is a great way to turn a negative into a plus for sure. Next they need to start developing garbage dumps in a way to collect the emissions the trash gives off.

reply to post by Authenticity


How secure is this?

Can it be used as a weapon?

How hard is it to turn it in to a weapon?

etc

etc..

Brilliant technology if it doesn't have any risk of being turned in to a weapon.

reply to post by oozyism


from what i have read - it would be as easay to " start from scratch " with raw uranium - than attempt to use the fuel from this in an fission bomb

the most " viable " weaponisation would be to cut it open and attach peices of the fuel elemets to conventional bombs - to spread contaminated material across a city

Why are people talking about bombs? This is designed to replace massive coal-fueled plants which is much more environmentally friendly.

You put gasoline in a car or generator, or you can pour gasoline around a building and light it up. Is this a concern? Nope.

This idea seems quite ingenious, IMO. I think the UN should manage these units instead of the US though, then their use would not be limited to friends of American interests.

Very cool!!!

Scalable and low maintenance, no overheating or risk of meltdown. Very nice indeed.

this has been discussed several years ago. my dad almost sunk 25 million into hyperion till he got cold feet. basically the way this works is the module arrives and is lowered into underground housing and a steam turbine is mounted on top heat from unit makes steam that powers the turbine for around 5 years . hard to weaponise i would be more fearful of prism from ge it actually has plutonium inside it which is much more useful in making a nuke. by the way reason my dad was interested was to power a factory he was building in wisconsin.

Is it a battery or a steam driven turbine.
Sounds too dangerous and too complicated.

Originally posted by proteus33
this has been discussed several years ago. my dad almost sunk 25 million into hyperion till he got cold feet. basically the way this works is the module arrives and is lowered into underground housing and a steam turbine is mounted on top heat from unit makes steam that powers the turbine for around 5 years . hard to weaponise i would be more fearful of prism from ge it actually has plutonium inside it which is much more useful in making a nuke. by the way reason my dad was interested was to power a factory he was building in wisconsin.

Sounds as if his 'cold feet' may have cost him a few shillings then!

He should have stuck with it!

That is some neat technology, it can't be any unsafer then a complete nuclear facility......

reply to post by singularitty


There is a dump outside of Lake Charles, La that does exactly that. It collects and stores the methane released from the decomposing compost that has been covered with soil, then sells it to energy companies.