Some of the areas covered include the key twr design challenges and brief descriptions of twrprototype twrp reactor. Terrapower is a nuclear reactor design company headquartered in bellevue, washington, united states. Terrapower plugs into open source community to improve. Terrapower is also exploring using molten salt as a thermal storage mechanism. Bill gates explains terrapower and the traveling wave reactor. Terrapowers conceptual and engineering design and associated technology. Why a new nuclear power initiative failed in china mach.
Advanced reactors and other isotopic applications are now possible with technology and enhanced computing capabilities that were unimaginable just a few decades ago. Terrapower plugs into open source community to improve advanced nuclear software capabilities by terrapowerstg october 4, 2019 january 29th, 2020 no comments the u. Terrapower s medical isotopes program terrapower s molten chloride fast reactor design stay up to date on terrapower s latest innovations, partnerships, and breakthroughs. Terrapower, llc develops nuclear reactor technology.
Neutrons from fission in the core breeds new fissile material in the. The traveling wave reactor twr design 1918x1440 play. Terrapower is proud of our leadership in this area. Terrapower is widely recognized for its gamechanging reactor design software. Bill gates terrapower project and the traveling wave. The first studies focused on the shufflefree concepts where the wave. But will advanced reactor designs fuel a largescale nuclear renaissance in. Gates invested in terrapower in 2011 with the hope of helping to prove the companys core concept. The traveling wave reactor twr is a oncethrough reactor that uses in situ breeding. Traveling wave reactor technology the twr technology takes leaps forward in cost and safety, while drastically reducing waste and proliferation concerns. This is a significant step forward in the companys efforts to create a licensed demonstration reactor. Bill gates nuclear reactor hits a roadblock engineering.
Toward a conceptlevel point design of a hightemperature. The molten chloride fast reactor meets terrapower s vision for advanced nuclear power. Ein laufwellenreaktor englisch travelingwave reactor, twr ist ein theoretisches konzept. Breeding converts incoming subcritical reload fuel. For well over a decade, bill gates has funded terrapower, a startup seeking to design, build, and commercialize a revolutionary nuclear reactor. Terrapower has emerged as an incubator and developer of ideas and technologies that offer energy independence, environmental sustainability, medical advancement and other cuttingedge opportunities. Marcia burkey, senior vice president and chief financial officer at terrapower, discusses the work being done to design nextgeneration nuclear reactors at the companys lab in bellevue, wash. Terrapower s new reactor was inspired by a 1960s experiment though terrapower began working on its newest line of reactors just a few years ago, the design is based on cold warera moltensalt. Terrapower, the bill gateschaired nuclear company, has altered the design of its socalled traveling wave reactor and has begun exploring other fission technologies as. The traveling wave reactor twr is a oncethrough reactor that uses in situ breeding to. Completely automated nuclear reactors for longterm operation ii. The twr concept places a small core of enriched fuel in the center of a much larger mass of nonfissile material, in this case depleted uranium.
Terrapower and traveling wave reactors stanford university. Now, via this open source effort, these tools will be available to a much larger population of innovators. Terrapower is developing a class of nuclear fast reactors called the traveling wave reactor. Terrapower is developing a class of nuclear fast reactors called the traveling wave reactor twr the twr concept places a small core of enriched fuel in the center of a much larger mass of nonfissile material, in this case depleted uranium. One of those technologies is known as twr, which stands for traveling wave reactors. Advanced reactors and other isotopic applications are now. Why arent we building a traveling wave reactor in the u. The traveling wave reactor twr design 1918x1440 close. Following world war ii, as the united states and the soviet union stockpiled nuclear weapons, some thinkers were wondering if atomic energy could be something other than a weapon of war. Terrapower has supported the vtr program by making enhancements to the vtrs design and has invested ten years of sodium technology development into its traveling wave reactor. In 2008, terrapower launched an effort to develop the first practical engineering embodiment of a breedandburn fast reactor considering all the engineering limits to produce a design concept now known as the twr 17.
Bill gates on the wrong path with travelling wave reactors. Terra power, a company founded by bill gates, tried to develop a selfsustaining nuclear reactor that promised to bring cleaner and more efficient energy production, but the project stalled. Terrapower s advanced reactor modeling interface software is complementary to the powerful proprietary physics kernels of the u. Selected information on the twrp core designs are also provided in the areas of neutronic, thermal hydraulic and fuel performance. The company provides traveling wave reactor that provides fuel cycle which allows nuclear energy to produce electricity. This animation shows how our traveling wave reactor design works. Terrapower has a video illustration of this concept. A new report from the nonprofit institute for energy and environmental research ieer think tank finds that the traveling wave reactor twr concept championed by terrapower, in which bill. Cohenm, truongb, terrapower, llc traveling wave reactor development program overview. Terrapower has developed such a toolthe advanced reactor modeling interface armi code systemand has deployed it to support the terrapower traveling wave reactor design. Terrapower llc company profile and news bloomberg markets. Rather than relying exclusively on enriched uranium, traveling wave reactors.
Bill gatess experimental nuclear power plant halts. Bill gates terrapower project and the traveling wave reactor answers with joe joe scott. Terrapower s founders entered the nuclear energy arena to meet growing electricity needs and lift billions out of poverty. About ge hitachi nuclear energy based in wilmington, n.
More specifically, they are a nuclear reactor design company that is. The travelingwave reactor and other advanced reactor designs could. The traveling wave reactor twr is a oncethrough reactor that uses in situ breeding to greatly reduce the need for enrichment and reprocessing. More specifically, they are a nuclear reactor design company that is developing a class of nuclear fast reactors called the traveling wave reactor. Terrapower quietly explores new nuclear reactor strategy. The twr uses a conventional sodium reactor architecture, consisting of a sodium primary coolant loop, a sodium intermediate coolant loop, and a steam power conversion cycle. The traveling wave reactor was the focus of our early work, and its still the baseline product of the company, said jeff latkowski, the director of innovation at terrapower, at the oak ridge event, a 50 th anniversary commemoration of the original molten salt reactor experiment. Terrapower is a nuclear innovation company dedicated to developing advanced nuclear reactors that will provide carbon. September 20 institute for energy and environmental research. In just a few years terrapower has transformed itself from developing a single advanced reactor design to become a dynamic hub of innovation in multiple areas of nuclear science. Nuclear engineering to create the traveling wave reactor twr design, terrapower has put together a team that boasts unparalleled expertise in nuclear engineering, simulation and modeling, finance, and nuclear project management. Terrapower s traveling wave reactor twr extends the safety and efficiency of nuclear energy while making it more affordable.
To create the traveling wave reactor twr design, terrapower has put. Bill gates stops chasing nuclear wave, pursues variety. Its part of a drive to be a thought leader for the industry and to demonstrate that the technologies it is working on will have a. Terrapower, llc traveling wave reactor development program. Terrapower s traveling wave reactor twr design gradually converts fuel through a nuclear reaction without removing it from the reactor s core. Inside the lab where bill gates terrapower is inventing the future of nuclear energy. Terrapowers nuclear reactor could power the 21st century. Department of energy labs, terrapower and other organizations, which users may obtain separately.
Department of energys announcement last month to establish the national reactor innovation center creates an important hub for research and development. It is from the february ted2010 conference, and here. Fission energy generated in the twr core is transferred in series through the primary and intermediate loops to steam generators. Bill gates terrapower developing moltenchloride nuclear. In 2006, terrapower launched an effort to develop the first practical engineering embodiment of a breedand burn fast reactor, producing a design concept known as a traveling wave reactor twr.
Inside the lab where terrapower is planning nuclear energys future. In this clip, bill gates explains a unique and earthsaving type of nuclear reactor thats in the works. Terrapower is a nuclear innovation company dedicated to developing advanced nuclear reactors that will provide carbonfree energy to billions. The terrapower reactor is a new variation on a design that was conceived some 60 years ago by a nowforgotten russian physicist, saveli feinberg. Our vision is to be a world leader in new nuclear technologies that. Terrapower is a leading nuclear innovation company that strives to improve the world through nuclear energy and science. Its advantageous design requires less fuel while supplying more heat and operates with high thermal efficiency that is safe and clean. Their traveling wave reactor design uses depleted uranium to operate, rather than uranium235 like in current reactors, and is built so that if left unattended, it will slowly shut down, making a. The technology that terrapower is attempting to develop is called a traveling wave. Inside the lab where terrapower is planning nuclear energy. Introduction the concept of a breedandburn reactor was envisioned many years ago as a potential alternative to the traditional breeder reactor design which relies on reprocessing of the nuclear fuel feinberg, 1958. Once started, a steadystate wave of power propagates through the reactor core.
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