Week 40 of 2023

Three nuclear energy innovation news!

➰ NAAREA (FR) designs a silicon carbide molten salt loop, in collaboration with Mersen and the ICAR-CM2T laboratory. The system is meant to operate up to 600°C. The novelty of silicon carbide is particularly interesting as it limits corrosion issues associated with molten salt while having a great tolerance to radiation and high temperature.

♨ Helen, one of the largest energy company in Finland, and Steady Energy, developer of the LDR-50, sign a letter of intent. The objective is to conclude a pre-investment agreement within the next six months for nuclear heat production. The LDR-50 has an output of 50 MWth, with an operating tempeature of 150°C and pressure of 10 bar. Helen's district heating network spans 1400 kilometres, one of the longest in the Nordic countries.

💂‍♀️ Six companies selected for the next stage of the Great British Nuclear SMR contest: EDF's NUWARD, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, Holtec Britain, NuScale Power,Rolls-Royce SMR, and Westinghouse Electric Company. While the number of candidates was not disclosed, these were judged on being the most able to deliver by the mid-2030s. The UK government has plans to expand nuclear energy capacity to 24 GW by 2050.

👨‍🎓 Paper of the week: "Self-Consistent Simulation of the Excitation of Compressional Alfvén Eigenmodes and Runaway Electron Diffusion in Tokamak Disruptions", Physical Review Letters (2023). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.131.085102

👉 New approach to mitigate damaging runaway electrons in tokamaks.

👇 Did you spot anything else? Let me know!