Miniature nuclear generators the size of a hot tub could soon be providing communities across America with affordable energy.
Powered by low-enriched uranium fuel, each Hyperion Power Module will produce enough clean, safe and environmentally friendly energy to reliably power 20,000 standard American homes for 10cents per kilowatt/hr. Linked together they have the capacity to power much larger enterprises.
The technology was originally pioneered by the US government’s Los Alamos laboratory, famed for producing the first atomic bomb. However, the development rights have now been passed to Hyperion Power Generation (HPG) who plan to have production up and running within 5 years.
Small enough to be transported to their destination on the back of a lorry, the miniature power generators will be factory sealed, buried underground and guarded for maximum security.
What’s more, they contain no moving parts so there is no risk that they could ever go into meltdown as the fuel they contain will instantaneously cool if they are ever opened.
To add to their eco credentials, each module will produce a mere softball-sized amount of recyclable waste every five years and will release nothing in the way of greenhouse gas emissions, unlike 'traditional' fossil fuels.
According to plans released by Hyperion, 3 factories across the world have already begun production of an initial 4,000 units. Each designed to produce 25 mega watts of electricity, the first 100 look set to be allocated to industrial enterprises operating in remote areas. However, the plan is to encourage the use of this potentially revolutionary technology in communities throughout the US.
Hyperion Chief Executive, John Deal, enthused: "Our goal is to generate electricity for 10 cents a kilowatt/hr anywhere in the world,"
"They will cost approximately $25m [£13m] each. For a community with 10,000 households, that is a very affordable $2,500 per home."
However, while these miniature nuclear generators seem like an ideal solution to the impending energy crisis, exactly how responsive the American people will be to the idea of having a nuclear reactor in their own back yard will remain to be seen.
