Can Nuclear Batteries Be Economically Competitive in Large Markets?

Can Nuclear Batteries Be Economically Competitive in Large Markets?

We introduce the concept of the nuclear battery, a standardized, factory-fabricated, road transportable, plug-and-play micro-reactor. Nuclear batteries have the potential to provide on-demand, carbon-free, economic, resilient, and safe energy for distributed heat and electricity applications in ever...

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Main Authors: Jacopo Buongiorno, Ben Carmichael, Bradley Dunkin, John Parsons, Dirk Smit
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-07-01
Series:Energies
Subjects:
portable micro-reactors
cost of heat and electricity
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/14/4385
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spelling doaj-8d8271210509431fa351ea6b1bf42fff2021-07-23T13:39:26ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732021-07-01144385438510.3390/en14144385Can Nuclear Batteries Be Economically Competitive in Large Markets?Jacopo Buongiorno0Ben Carmichael1Bradley Dunkin2John Parsons3Dirk Smit4Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USASouthern Company, Atlanta, GA 30308, USAAdvanced Manufacturing Solutions, Portland, OR 97086, USAMassachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USAShell Global Solutions B.V., Grasweg 31, 1031 HW Amsterdam, The NetherlandsWe introduce the concept of the nuclear battery, a standardized, factory-fabricated, road transportable, plug-and-play micro-reactor. Nuclear batteries have the potential to provide on-demand, carbon-free, economic, resilient, and safe energy for distributed heat and electricity applications in every sector of the economy. The cost targets for nuclear batteries in these markets are 20–50 USD/MWh<sub>t</sub> (6–15 USD/MMBTU) and 70–115 USD/MWh<sub>e</sub> for heat and electricity, respectively. We present a parametric study of the nuclear battery’s levelized cost of heat and electricity, suggesting that those cost targets are within reach. The cost of heat and electricity from nuclear batteries is expected to depend strongly on core power rating, fuel enrichment, fuel burnup, size of the onsite staff, fabrication costs and financing. Notional examples of cheap and expensive nuclear battery designs are provided.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/14/4385portable micro-reactorscost of heat and electricity
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Jacopo Buongiorno
Ben Carmichael
Bradley Dunkin
John Parsons
Dirk Smit
spellingShingle Jacopo Buongiorno
Ben Carmichael
Bradley Dunkin
John Parsons
Dirk Smit
Can Nuclear Batteries Be Economically Competitive in Large Markets?
Energies
portable micro-reactors
cost of heat and electricity
author_facet Jacopo Buongiorno
Ben Carmichael
Bradley Dunkin
John Parsons
Dirk Smit
author_sort Jacopo Buongiorno
title Can Nuclear Batteries Be Economically Competitive in Large Markets?
title_short Can Nuclear Batteries Be Economically Competitive in Large Markets?
title_full Can Nuclear Batteries Be Economically Competitive in Large Markets?
title_fullStr Can Nuclear Batteries Be Economically Competitive in Large Markets?
title_full_unstemmed Can Nuclear Batteries Be Economically Competitive in Large Markets?
title_sort can nuclear batteries be economically competitive in large markets?
publisher MDPI AG
series Energies
issn 1996-1073
publishDate 2021-07-01
description We introduce the concept of the nuclear battery, a standardized, factory-fabricated, road transportable, plug-and-play micro-reactor. Nuclear batteries have the potential to provide on-demand, carbon-free, economic, resilient, and safe energy for distributed heat and electricity applications in every sector of the economy. The cost targets for nuclear batteries in these markets are 20–50 USD/MWh<sub>t</sub> (6–15 USD/MMBTU) and 70–115 USD/MWh<sub>e</sub> for heat and electricity, respectively. We present a parametric study of the nuclear battery’s levelized cost of heat and electricity, suggesting that those cost targets are within reach. The cost of heat and electricity from nuclear batteries is expected to depend strongly on core power rating, fuel enrichment, fuel burnup, size of the onsite staff, fabrication costs and financing. Notional examples of cheap and expensive nuclear battery designs are provided.
topic portable micro-reactors
cost of heat and electricity
url https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/14/4385
work_keys_str_mv AT jacopobuongiorno cannuclearbatteriesbeeconomicallycompetitiveinlargemarkets
AT bencarmichael cannuclearbatteriesbeeconomicallycompetitiveinlargemarkets
AT bradleydunkin cannuclearbatteriesbeeconomicallycompetitiveinlargemarkets
AT johnparsons cannuclearbatteriesbeeconomicallycompetitiveinlargemarkets
AT dirksmit cannuclearbatteriesbeeconomicallycompetitiveinlargemarkets
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