The two infographics above visualize the countries around the world that are currently developing small modular reactors (SMR) and the distribution of advanced reactors in development by reactor type. The first graph uses data from the IAEA’s SMR Technology Development report from 2022, while the second graph depicts data from the IAEA’s Advanced Reactors Information System (ARIS) database. Currently,…
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Reframing the Nuclear Danger
The advent of nuclear weapons in 1945, documented in the new movie Oppenheimer, launched a bonanza of radioactivity-driven fear movies and monsters, featuring Godzilla, tarantulas, ants, and assorted zombies. These cultural contributions, along with the demonstrated dreadful results of atomic weapons use and above-ground testing, developed into a dominant framework for assessing nuclear technology –…
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Next-Gen Nuclear’s Transition to Demonstration
Nuclear power is no longer asking for a seat at the clean energy technology table. It has been given a chair. But the future zero-carbon contribution of nuclear energy rests increasingly on the deployment of small and modular reactors that are in many cases quite different from the existing global fleet of large reactors. Those…
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Overcoming Obstacles to Next-Gen Reactor Deployment
A meeting in Austin this month crystalized a growing concern about whether the U.S. has an effective strategy for actually deploying the next generation of smaller nuclear reactors into which it is pouring billions of dollars in technology development. The key insight into the dilemma was offered by a senior official from the Department of…
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