NUCLEAR POWERU.S. Should Begin Laying the Foundation for New and Advanced Nuclear Reactors: Report

Published 8 May 2023

New and advanced types of nuclear reactors could play an important role in helping the U.S. meet its long-term climate goals, but a range of technical, regulatory, economic, and societal challenges must first be overcome.

New and advanced types of nuclear reactors could play an important role in helping the U.S. meet its long-term climate goals, but a range of technical, regulatory, economic, and societal challenges must first be overcome, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Development, testing, and widespread deployment of these reactors could occur over several decades. The report makes recommendations for the U.S. Department of Energy, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, other federal and state agencies, and private industry to lay the groundwork required for advanced reactors to become a viable part of the U.S. energy system.  

Currently, the U.S. electricity system includes large light water reactors (LWRs) that produce electricity for commercial use. LWRs use water to cool the reactor and moderate the speed of the nuclear chain reactions taking place. Many advanced reactor concepts use conventional fuels, materials, and manufacturing methods, but some also employ a wide array of new coolants, designs, fuels, materials, and technologies. Among these are modular LWRs that are smaller, simpler, and rely mainly on passive safety features. Other examples include reactors that use liquid metal, molten salt, or high-temperature gas as coolants. 

The U.S. electricity system is already undergoing massive shifts, but economy-wide decarbonization efforts will span decades, and electricity demand is projected to continually grow over that period. Advanced nuclear technologies likely will not be able to markedly contribute to electricity generation until the 2030s at the earliest, the report says, but there are opportunities for them to compete with other energy technologies in the long term. Innovative ideas for reactors, if fulfilled, may provide on-demand power generation to complement variable sources of energy, such as solar and wind energy, and help decarbonize challenging industrial sectors by providing high-temperature heat for chemical processes, such as hydrogen production.      

Some advanced nuclear reactor concepts, due to their size or the way they are to be produced, offer new ways for nuclear power to be used, including:

·  Major portions or even the entirety of the reactor system could be produced in factories, potentially reducing project costs and uncertainties and increasing quality. 

·  Existing power generation sites using fossil fuel (e.g., coal plants) could be repurposed for nuclear power generation.  

·  Small reactors or microreactors could be transported to meet off-grid emergency needs.