“World’s simplest” nuclear reactors could be installed underground to provide heat to cities
https://www.techspot.com/news/105868-world-simplest-nuclear-reactors-could-installed-underground-finland.html
“World’s simplest” nuclear reactors could be installed underground to provide heat to cities
https://www.techspot.com/news/105868-world-simplest-nuclear-reactors-could-installed-underground-finland.html
6 Comments
A Finnish startup is developing what they say could be the world’s simplest commercial nuclear reactor. **The reactor will solely produce heat – no electricity** – in a “cost-competitive” manner.
The reactor dubbed LDR-50 offers a thermal output of 50 MW, running at a cozy 150°C, which is far below the scorching temps of conventional nuclear plants. That low operating temperature also allows the reactor to use natural circulation for cooling instead of energy-hungry pumps.
The facility will supply the generated heat to district heating networks, industrial processes, desalination plants, and more. Steady Energy aims to drastically reduce construction costs and timelines compared to alternatives by sidestepping the complex steam turbines and generators needed for electricity production.
So they’re making steam or hot water and then using it directly for heat instead of making electricity, skipping the turbine. Which is why they don’t need to generate as high temps and pressures.
Interesting idea. Electrification of everything is all the rage these days, but this is sort of an alternative.
It would require an extensive city wide steam or hot water distribution system, right?
many cities in the world are by oceans.. you can just suck the heat from the water, which already is getting warmer from climate change, using heat exchanges and use that to heat cities.
You are proposing something that too many people would balk at. Think how the, sadly large, group of anti-nuke folks would react to this.
Interesting to see this idea resurfacing after 50+ years. As soon as I saw the headline it activated my historian brain and reminded me of an engineering proposal in the Soviet Union in the 1970s that was more or less identical. In the end, the Soviets never went ahead with it but the basic concept was sketched out and demonstrated to be economically and scientifically feasible. Though from my research the Soviet plan was for 300MWth unit output, where the Finnish proposal is a much much smaller 50.
[https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/31304794649.pdf](https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/31304794649.pdf)
I still always wonder what’s the solution for the nuclear waste that never goes away and accumulates as you use nuclear power