Small Nuclear Reactors Are Becoming Big Business

When most people think of nuclear power plants, visions of huge complexes come to mind. Now, companies are rushing to develop a new generation of small nuclear reactors to help meet the world's growing demand for electricity. An interesting development comes from private company Hyperion Power Generation, which is working on refrigerator sized reactors that can be used in remote locations, not connected to a traditional power grid. In term of cost, a normal utility-sized reactor can typically cost about $2.3 billion and produce nearly 1.2 giga-watts of electricity. While Hyperion’s reactors cost only $50 million for 25 mega-watts, which is enough to power 20,000 homes. The company intends to apply for a license this year for units that would power a small factory or towns too remote to be connected to traditional electricity grids. The Santa Fe-based company, as well as Japan's Toshiba, are vying for a head start over traditional reactor makers General Electric and Areva in downsizing nuclear technology. Hyperion says it has more than 150 purchase commitments from customers, including mining and telecom companies, provided its technology gets licensed for operation by the US government. The International Energy Association estimates that world electricity demand will grow 2.7 percent a year from now until 2015 and then 2.4 percent annually until 2030. In an effort to satiate that demand, nuclear power is getting a second look in the US.


While large-scale nuclear plants now under way cost an average of $6.2 billion and will generate multiple gigawatts of power, Hyperion's price tag of $50 million for a 25-megawatt reactor is definitely comparable in cost to diesel generators or wind farms. Transportable by truck, the units would come in a sealed box and require less maintenance than a fossil fuel plant. Developers say they would cost 15 % less per megawatt of capacity than the full-scale atomic reactors now on the drawing board. So far, no manufacturer has sought certification for any small reactor, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Formal approvals could take three to five years, the same period as for bigger reactors. At the same time, environmentalists are concerned that small reactors would pose the same risk of leaking radioactive materials as their larger counterparts.


The basic technology used by Hyperion was invented a half-century ago at the government's Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. Six other minireactors are being planned by companies including NuScale Power, Toshiba, and Westinghouse, acquired by Toshiba in 2006. Westinghouse has been developing tiny reactors since 1999, intended for sale to small industry, utilities, and customers in developing nations. It will apply later this year for the US approval to testa unit in the village of Galena in central Alaska.

Source: Bloomberg