Grizlason June 08 2022 22:57:01
Good episode. This is basically the current state of nuclear technology. So without improvements it will not have much of an impact.
I am however, quite hopeful about future improvements. Given that the ocean contains 4 billion ton of uranium, we can surely use U235 for a couple of centuries without running out of earths resources, even if we increased nuclear 10 fold. If the price of uranium triples, I believe the increased efficiency of molten salt reactors will more than make up for it. Traditional reactors use only 6% of their assembly fuel, before reprocessing. MSRs can reach maybe 50-80%. MSRs also operate at much higher temperatures, allowing for better heat transfer and the possibility to sell the decay heat.
About 70% of the cost of traditional nuclear power plants are fixed. New modular molten salt reactors (Seaborg) could reduce this number dramatically.
Interest
