UN, billionaires back new-generation nuclear reactors

A NEW breed of nuclear reactors designed by engineers from the millennial generation gained support of billionaires and the UN agency overseeing the industry.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is opening an exchange for countries to trade information on technology that uses molten salt to moderate the atomic reaction of liquid fuels. The exchange offers backing to investors such as Bill Gates and Peter Thiel, who have supported the reactors as safer and cheaper.

“The technology used in today’s reactors is never going to be economical,” said Rory O’Sullivan, the chief operating officer at Moltex Energy.

Unlike most reactors, which use water to moderate nuclear reactions inside of massive containment vessels, Molten Salt Reactors, or MSRs, operate under normal atmospheric pressure. That is important in the event of an accident, as pressure will not build to the point of explosion.

Stefano Monti, the IAEA’s head of nuclear-power technology development, said the IAEA’s exchange might help engineers standardise molten salt designs and aid “near-term deployment”.

Edwin Lyman from the Union of Concerned Scientists said: “Molten salt reactors will present many novel safety and security issues for regulators that will require significant time and resources to resolve.” – Bloomberg