A New Mexico based company have started production on hot tub-sized nuclear generators designed to power communities across America.
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 $2,500 per home."
However, while these miniature nuclear generators seem like an ideal solution to the impending energy crisis, exactly how responsive the American people will be to the idea of having a nuclear reactor in their own back yard will remain to be seen.
Source
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Comments (44)
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Realist
10th Nov 2008 23:45
Until more is explained about the "softball-sized amount of recyclable waste" it's all a load of crap.
Sam.berger sum
11th Nov 2008 00:07
Let me know as soon as they are built for sale to the public,
This should end well. [/sarcasm]
I don't even trust my local city council to take care of water and sewer development properly. Why on earth would I be okay with them operating a nuclear reactor?
This is just dumb 25$ million dollars for nuclear energy is just wasteful. Why cant that money just be taken and build wind farms or new solar plants do something that wont effect us later.
Michael
11th Nov 2008 00:23
This company is completely crazy! Talk about a dirty bomb waiting to go off ! What about the waste? Do we ship it to YOUR back yard? The amount of cancers that will be caused by such a product over the billions of years that people will be exposed to the waste is staggering........Human misery!
carsten
11th Nov 2008 00:27
Are you insane?
sam ny
11th Nov 2008 00:30
You can put one in my backyard!
This is the type of inovation we need to free this country from the strangle hold that the oil industry has on us.
MICHAEL J. SCHMITZ
11th Nov 2008 00:50
I DOUBT IT. NOWADAYS PEOPLE ARE LOOKING AT SOLAR ENERGY TO SAVE MONEY.
Envirogreennut
11th Nov 2008 00:53
What type of waste is being produced? What is the mass balance of carbon foot print of the unit, including processing the fuel? Could they be put in at the local cogens/peaker power plant locations if they are that small? What is the actual size of the support equipment?
war cat
11th Nov 2008 00:56
i like it, may be use it to turn water in to its base elements hydrogen and oxegen,then use that to power a house or heat it.
george
11th Nov 2008 01:38
Ten cents per watt is outrageously expensive. Did they mean "per kilowatt?"
rodney
11th Nov 2008 01:44
in a crazy world and you want to put one in the ground can you say boom.
Anonymous
11th Nov 2008 01:53
Sounds like a lazy excuse for the government to put of clean, renewable, SAFE energy. Then again, if we were to dismantle a few thousand of those nuclear bombs we have stored, we'd probably have enough uranium to make this project possible.
Big Badness. Way dangerous. Here's a better idea: http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/003999.html
what garranatees of safety is there and how does security work ? who is doing the guarding and more to the point how is it payed for?
Mark pawlici
11th Nov 2008 02:36
I would like one. sign me up!
Jim Gray
11th Nov 2008 02:55
It sounds good enough to be true. If the deveopers are transparent enough to inspire confidence in the safety of the technology, the expected resistance from the populace may never materialize. Surely, the safety record of nuc powered subs and carriers is something to stress. Energy independence would do wonders for our balance of trade, clean jobs and the environment.
Dave Dodds
11th Nov 2008 03:26
Electricity is priced by the kilowatt hour not by the watt. Kilowatt hours are a measure of energy while watts are a measure of power. You would think that the ceo of Hyperion would know the difference. So, how will the cost of this electricity compare with the cost from a typical utility?
not convinced
11th Nov 2008 04:00
not all waste from uranium fuel is recyclable. What happens to the rest?
ssgchester
11th Nov 2008 08:28
COOLNESS...of course, I'll wrap mine in a few inches of lead....just to be safe.... ya know...
jdfox144@aol.com
11th Nov 2008 13:35
I think it's a good idea. Would you send me more information?
This is great news and a workable solution. To entice this idea , maybe the people that live within a certain close distance to the unit would get their electricity free and those just a little further out would be at a reduced rate. Electricity should be cheap and affordable and pleantiful with a very high confidence of availability. We have to become energy independent.
when you think about everything else that is back there this would not be a problem
Phantastic
11th Nov 2008 16:25
I'll open the gate to my back yard anytime that you want. Heck....I'll even dig the hole for you.
Where should I send the check?
Afraid
11th Nov 2008 16:37
Terrorist will steal them and use them to blow up cities.
please think before you speak
11th Nov 2008 16:56
before you judge and freak out over nothing, maybe you should do more research on the topic. I'm sure they would never get such an item released into the public without some kind of regulation and it would most likely not be advertised where the plant would be located. seriously people next time you get a thought let it go, and think about what your gonna write.
WHAT A CRAZY IDEA! DON'T YOU KNOW WHAT TARGETS THAT WILL BE FOR TERRORIST! WHAT IF THERE IS AN EARTHQUAKE, ETC! I FEEL SORRY FOR THE MY CHILDREN AND GRAND CHILDREN'S FUTURE! I FEEL SORRY FOR MY ELDERLY YEARS!
J Paris
11th Nov 2008 17:04
For US communities, would there be grant possibilities to help with the cost of purchase and Installation?
People need to wake up and realize that Earth won't last forever. We're burning through 2 barrels of oil for every 1 barrel discovered, coal is polluting the atmosphere to hell.
These things can't meltdown, put them everywhere. This is the world we have created for ourselves, its time to sacrifice a little bit.
Robert
11th Nov 2008 18:01
I want one for myself and for my dog too
TPepez
11th Nov 2008 18:28
I just wonder what you do with a nuclear accident in your backyard. does it come with a manuel?
richard ornstein
11th Nov 2008 19:01
If they are truly SAFE I would certainly have one in my home.It would put an end to the demand for fossil fuels,and begin to wean the world away from unstable oil cartels.If this technology is really what it claims this is the breakthrough that we have been waiting for.Lets hope so !!!!
i think people are just scared cause of the word "Nuclear." do people realize that everything they have on them at this very second has a trace of radation? i think it is a great idea and should be tested just to make sure they have adequite safety precautions and fail-safes. nuclear can be very effective source of energy. the min reactors are not weapons grade. CNN had a special on this just last night. still i think when ever people think of nuclear, in there heads they see a big old mushroom cloud with lots of distruction. yet they fail to realize the diffrence between weapons grade and non weapons grade. like i said...if they prove that it is safe and secure, then i welcome it... i see everyone having there own lil reactor for there household in the near future. its just a change that people will have to go through. i think we need more ideas like this if we are going to be a fuel independent country.
There are much safer solutions to the energy crisis. I would not like these in may
community and would object loudly and join in working against these.
kendall
11th Nov 2008 22:07
there has to be waste, there has to be a recharge at some time. what are those costs and ramifications ?
How wonderful! So? Where do familes store the toxic waste?? Toxic waste, whether it is from nuclear, oil or natural gas, is never discussed. I sure do not want it buried in my backyard. So? What will they do with the toxic waste?
trust me
13th Nov 2008 07:17
red flag....security.....!
Uncle B
14th Nov 2008 02:45
Thankfully, China will provide the answer to the waste disposal question. Their superior education and larger population to draw on has provides a remarkable uber-super intelligent class of human! These folks don't dwell on the negative, instead they surf the possibilities and have found many answers we in the western world are unaware of! They will reveal thier solution just at the point of maximum profit for themselves! Like I said, they are not fools!
I think it's a great idea. We've had nuclear powered ships and subs for years. Can't recall the last accident we've had with them in service. People are funny. They want criminals in jails but they don't want jails near their homes....They want cheap power but don't want nuclear plants near them... out of sight mentality. I wonder how many people die in coal mines worldwide yearly compared to those that have died due to nuclear reactors?
Paul Rossi
30th Dec 2008 22:14
Build and deploy these now!
Amazing. As long as it was run properly, and that sounds reasonably encouraging, it's part of 'a solution' to the energy crisis.
People seem to be under the impression they'd sell TO INDIVIDUAL FAMILIES though.... Never gonna happen - and itshouldn't - they mean just like one per area of town?
I'd be concerned about security if it was just sitting behind a wooden fence on the street - that could be taken - but if it's buried and guarded properly I don't see a problem. Gov't will also undoubtedly want a say in these being secure and properly run.
Radioactive material is then easier to steal from hospitals where it's already used... so in other words, not a problem. The point about nuclear carriers at sea's track record is a good one, too
smartguy
23rd Jan 2009 19:15
this is a great idea.
Kaye M, USA
5th Mar 2009 04:19
Why are we not hearing anything about this in the USA?
S. Venkataraman,
17th Apr 2009 16:38
There appears to be nothing wrong with the concept of mini nuclear reactors for in situ production of electricity. However, when public are now not readily willing to accept big reactors for safety reasons it is too much to expect that they would come forward to the build up of a plethora small reactors in the middle of cities. The security, contamination and day to day running may not be all that simple.
As a developing nation we do not want mini nuclear reactors as a clean technology to combat climate change. In view of our being blessed with abundant sunshine for most of the year at all places we would opt for production of photovoltic eletricity at copmpetetive prices.
