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NuScale’s Small Nuclear Reactors: Everything You Need to Know

A nuclear reactor is a device that is used to start and regulate nuclear chain reactions or nuclear fusion processes. Nuclear reactors are regarded as clean energy sources. One of their most prevalent and major uses is the generation of power while also protecting the environment in a way that other energy options do not. Small nuclear reactors’ role in the future of nuclear electricity has been debated for a long time. Small modular reactors, due to their size, might overcome some of the key issues of the traditional nuclear power generation process, making facilities faster, cheaper, and safer to run. As a result, the following MIT Technology Review article discusses how compact modular nuclear reactors may be used more successfully.

According to the article, SMRs, such as NuScale’s proposed reactors, may offer electricity when and where it is required in easy-to-build, easy-to-manage plants. The article suggests that the technology might help reduce climate change by replacing plants that use fossil fuels, such as coal. It suggests that NuScale’s SMR creates energy by using a technique similar to that utilized in today’s nuclear plants, in which the reactor separates atoms in a pressurized core, emitting heat. That heat may be utilized to convert water into steam, which drives a turbine and generates energy. However, the article brings up an intriguing point: NuScale intends to produce reactor modules with a capacity of fewer than 100 megawatts. This is due to the fact that when these small nuclear reactors are combined in power plants, they will average a few hundred megawatts, which is less than a single unit in the Vogtle plant. These reactors may also be safer since the mechanisms required to keep them cool, as well as those required to shut them down in an emergency, are simpler, according to the article. The article also mentions that NuScale has already completed the most difficult regulatory hurdles necessary before constructing a reactor. However, as the firm went through the lengthy regulatory procedure, researchers continued to work on reactor design and realized that their reactors might perform better. According to the article, there are various hurdles, one of which is that the costs of many huge construction projects have risen as inflation has influenced the price of steel and other building supplies while lending rates have climbed. If price increases persist, participants may withdraw from NuScale’s initiative, putting the project in jeopardy. The article concludes by implying that the benefits of SMRs are only theoretical until the reactors are operational, generating power without the need for fossil fuels.

Nuclear reactors are an essential asset for the globe since dealing with environmental dangers is critical. The preceding text indicates that small nuclear reactors like NuScale’s might be extremely valuable.

To dive deeper into importance of technology and how sustainability and innovation affects the world of business, visit MIT PE Technology Leadership Program (TLP).

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