The US wants to build a different kind of nuclear reactor from a decades-old concept that could power ships and other off-the-grid locations
www.businessinsider.com
Most nuclear reactors use water as a coolant. Molten salt reactors use salts with higher boiling points. Kairos Power will build the US's first in decades.

One study suggested that the reactors could produce more nuclear waste than current systems and that they “will use highly corrosive and pyrophoric fuels and coolants that, following irradiation, will become highly radioactive.”

  • @shapesandstuff
    2•7 months ago

    Over here in Germany it has already shown that you can’t fully replace nuclear power with green power. What you instead get if you try to shut down all the nuclear reactors is an increase in coal fossil fuel based plants

    There’s more nuance to that. Like reducing solar sector over years, costing upwards of 100k people their job while keeping coal on life support “to protect the jobs” as in 20k or less.

    Missing opportunities to improve our tech over decades again and again, knowingly, pandering lobbyists.

    I mean maybe it’s impossible to switch to renewables. But Germany is not a proof of that. Germany is proof of coal and conservatism holding back any meaningful change.