Bill Gates saw what we have always known.
Bill Gates is leading a Revolution in nuclear energy, the visionary founder of Microsoft is investing heavily in the development of a Next Generation nuclear reactor that promises to transform the energy scenario of the United States and the world.
And the news is that Terrapower has finally symbolically begun the construction of the first next-generation nuclear reactor, despite the fact that the United States was a pioneer in the development of this type of energy, the North American nuclear industry has been stagnant for decades.
The US Nuclear Energy Industry.
Since 1978 only two nuclear plants began to be built, both using conventional pressurized water and boiling water technologies, the industry has faced many challenges from high construction costs to political pressures and problems with nuclear waste management, but Bill Gates with his vision and a few billion dollars in investments, founded Terrapower in 2008, with an ambitious goal to build the first fourth-generation commercial reactor in the United States.
The 345 Mega Watt Natrium reactor is an innovative project that uses molten sodium as a coolant instead of water, connected to a molten salt energy storage system at a 1 Gyga Watt/hour, the Natrium can act as a backup for energy sources. Intermittent energy such as wind and solar means that when the sun is not shining or the wind is not blowing, the molten salt generates steam to move the turbines and produce electricity.
New system.
This modular reactor uses high-grade, low-enriched uranium increasing efficiency and safety, sodium allows it to operate at temperatures much higher than water without the risks of corrosion or decomposition and is designed to be inherently safe, with passive systems that control nuclear reaction in case of emergency, it is also smaller, faster and cheaper to build, being three times more efficient than conventional nuclear plants.
The symbolic inauguration took place on June 10, 2024 after the US nuclear regulatory commission approved the construction license, Gates is optimistic and focused on the construction of the non-nuclear part of the plant, if everything goes according to plan. Construction of the reactor will begin in 2026 and will be completed in 2030.
