Hyperion pitches mini-nukes as form of distributed generation
Monday, January 5th, 2009
My Clean Break column in today’s Toronto Star takes a close look at Hyperion Power Generation, the New Mexico start-up that believes the future of nuclear power will be built in 25-megawatt chunks. Most of us, when we think of distributed power generation, think of solar and wind and other renewables. Hyperion wants to add nuclear to that list. Based on technology developed at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, the company has developed a nuclear “battery” the size of a garden shed that produces enough power over 5 to 10 years to supply the equivalent of 20,000 homes. At a cost of $30 million, the reactor is ideally suited to oil-sand developments, military bases and other remote outposts, the company says.
It uses uranium hydride as fuel and the design is based on TRIGA reactors used to safely train young nuclear scientists. It’s self-moderating — when the reactor core goes above 550 degrees C the fuel begins to lose hydrogen atoms, which are collected in special storage trays surrounding the core. The loss of hydrogen atoms naturally cools down the reactor to a point where it begins to reabsorb the hydrogen atoms again. This cycle keeps the temperature fairly constant and makes a meltdown virtually impossible. No water cooling is required. (more…)
Tyler Hamilton is editor-in-chief of Corporate Knights magazine and a business columnist for the Toronto Star, Canada's largest daily newspaper. In addition to this Clean Break blog, Tyler writes a weekly column of the same name that discusses trends, happenings and innovators in the clean technology and green energy market. This blog is a personal project started in April 2005. It is not an official blog of the newspaper.
