Mini Nuclear Proliferation
BY Debbie Maskin, IEN Staff
Scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) say miniature nuclear power plants, deployable virtually anywhere power is needed, will be available within the next 5 years. Hyperion Power Modules (HPM) will be factory sealed, contain no weapon-grade materials, and have no mechanical or moving parts, such as cooling rods, that can fail. (Photo Courtesy: Hyperion)
Through the LANL’s tech transfer program, the technology has been licensed to Hyperion Power Generation, which plans to set up 3 factories to produce 4,000 plants between 2013 and 2023. “We already have a pipeline for 100 reactors, and we are taking our time to tool up to mass-produce this reactor," the company reports. And apparently orders are coming in.
Originally created to provide affordable and emission-free heat, steam, and electricity for the recovery and processing of heavy oil in oil sands and shale fields, the compact, transportable HPM is designed to maintain a safe operating temperature and, therefore, cannot go supercritical or melt down. In his interview with Techrockies, Hyperion's CEO John R. "Grizz" Deal, explains the safety aspects:
“In traditional reactors, you've got to have a moderator and then you've also got to have some way to cool it so it doesn't get out of hand. In our nation's light water reactors, the water serves as both the moderator and the coolant. So the moderator actually makes it go and a cooling system keeps it from going too far. Our fuel is very unique. It's uranium hydride--low-enriched--about 10% [uranium isotope]-235, and the rest U-238. By comparison, bomb-grade fuel is about 98% enriched. You can't turn our fuel into a bomb. You'd have to re-enrich, re-process the fuel, so you might as well start with yellowcake. That's one of the neat safety features of our reactor. For nefarious purposes, our reactor has absolutely no value whatsoever.”
Invented by Otis G. Peterson during his tenure at LANL, the HPM is self-regulating, with the inherent properties of uranium hydride serving as both fuel and moderator. The temperature-driven mobility of the hydrogen contained in the hydride controls the nuclear activity. If the core temperature increases over the setpoint, the hydrogen is driven out of the core, the moderation drops, and the power production decreases. If the temperature drops, the hydrogen returns, and the process is reversed. The design, therefore, is inherently fail-safe and will require minimal human oversight.
Once situated safely in its underground containment vessel, an HPM will deliver 70 MW thermal or 25 MW electric via steam turbine for up to 10 years. Sealed at the factory, the module is not to be opened until it has been returned to the factory for refueling, approximately every 5 years or so, depending on use. Hyperion modules can also be ganged to provide even more power.
"Our goal is to generate electricity for 10 cents a watt anywhere in the world," says Hyperion CEO John Deal. ‘"The HPMs will cost approximately $25 million each. For a community with 10,000 households, that is a very affordable $250 per home."
An application to build the plants will be submitted to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission next year.