Nuclear Power Related Media Thread, page-777

Thanks for asking MB

Nuclear fusion is coming, still possibly 10 years of more away, they will be part of the electricity generation for sure, but a couple of things, they will be quite costly, I imagine them being pretty big if they are to supply any significant amount of electricity because they actually use a lot of what it can produce themselves maintaining the reaction process and will be tied to the grid IMHO because they need power themselves in order to start the process, but like any new untested nuclear technology they will still have to jump through all the hoops, possibly moreso because it is at the moment untested anywhere and they will produce some nuclear waste and they do have certain problems that have to be overcome -: https://thebulletin.org/2017/04/fusion-reactors-not-what-theyre-cracked-up-to-be/

What they wont do is help get rid of todays UNF and they won't stop the introduction of SMR's that are much smaller, less costly and can be located where they are needed on very small land areas, they can even work off grid to supply industry needs with both electricity and also process heat which can be used for quite a few applications, they do not need a grid connection to start the process and can be ramped up or down or even off if need be, a fusion reactor would have to be grid connected and will have to run constantly to maintain the reaction. they won't replace today's reactors either because they are already in place and with newer fuels being developed like HALEU and the ability to produce hydrogen may mean that they may become a lot more efficient and start to become more competitive with gas fired electricity production, they could be around for some time yet.