Bill Gates is going atomic. The Microsoft founder's startup TerraPower is partnering with Toshiba to build a traveling-wave reactor. These reactors run on depleted uranium, rather than the enriched sort found in light-water reactors, only have to be refueled every 60 to 100 years, and are small enough to fit in a hot tub. it is all part of Gates' quest for zero carbon emissions�in the next 40 years.
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Toshiba has been working on its own mini nuclear reactors with a 30-year shelf life, making it the perfect partner for the software magnate-turned-philanthropist. Its 4S model (Super-Safe, Small and Simple) is expected to get US approval this year, and Toshiba is hoping to start production by 2014.
It's not clear whether Gates is simply joining in the development of the 4S, or collaborating on a separate model. The technology will not be commercially available for the next decade or so, according to The New York Times. The Nikkei is also claiming that Gates might invest several billion dollars of his own fortune in the project.
COMMENTARY:� There is�growing movement towards�advanced�or�generation IV (Gen-IV) nuclear reactors.��Gen-IV nuclear reactors�are�smaller,�less costly�nuclear reactors that can be located in small cities and remote locations without access to an electrical grid.
Toshiba is not the only company developing�Gen-IV nuclear reactors.� There are several�university research labs and startups�with�plans for Gen-IV nuclear reactors under development.� One of these companies is NuScale Power, a company that I profiled on my�blog in late January 2010, licensed the idea for a Gen-IV nuclear reactor from Oregon State University, and has developed a�scale model prototype�for a 45MWe�modular mini-nuclear reactor.
Expect to hear more news on these advanced or Gen-IV nuclear reactors
Courtesy of an article dated March 23, 2010 appearing in Fast Company������
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