Antares achieves criticality of Mark-0 reactor
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Antares achieves criticality of Mark-0 reactor
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Re: Antares achieves criticality of Mark-0 reactor
#2TRISO fuel so.. pebble bed? Is there a reluctance to market on this? The Chinese were all-in.
Great to see engineering deliver on time. I wonder if Rolls Royce will also have a smooth ride. It's a PWR.
Re: Antares achieves criticality of Mark-0 reactor
#3Congrats to everyone involved. This is a pretty awesome milestone
Re: Antares achieves criticality of Mark-0 reactor
#4TRISO fuel so.. pebble bed? Is there a reluctance to market on this? The Chinese were all-in. Great to see engineering deliver on time. I wonder if Rolls Royce will also have a smooth ride. It's a PWR.
Prismatic (or cylindrical) TRISO also makes sense. There are lots of potential problems using pebble beds (circulation, grinding), whereas doing regular refuelling cycles avoids them, in exchange for down-time to refuel.
Re: Antares achieves criticality of Mark-0 reactor
#5Congrats to everyone involved. This is a pretty awesome milestone
To add a bit of context there were 11 companies participating in program and only 2 achieved critiality, and the deadline included in "DOE Reactor Pilot Program" was "July 4, 2026", and Aalo Atomics is the only one that might also make it in time.
Re: Antares achieves criticality of Mark-0 reactor
#6[deleted]
Re: Antares achieves criticality of Mark-0 reactor
#7> "The Trump administration is proud to support the rebirth of America’s nuclear industry and ensuring Americans have access to affordable, reliable and secure energy for generations to come."
> "The demonstration and the licensing pathway it establishes represent a key step toward deploying electricity-producing microreactors for U.S. military installations by September 30, 2028."
So which is it? Power to the people or power to the military? This microreactor concept doesn't seem very well suited for commercial use.
Re: Antares achieves criticality of Mark-0 reactor
#8> "The Trump administration is proud to support the rebirth of America’s nuclear industry and ensuring Americans have access to affordable, reliable and secure energy for generations to come." > "The demonstration and the licensing pathway it establishes represent a key step toward deploying electricity-producing microreactors for U.S. military installations by September 30, 2028." So which is it? Power to the people…
Why would microreactor concepts not be suitable for commercial use? History is overwhelmed with examples of large, rare and expensive tech being produced in small cheap packages and becoming massive commercial successes that make the old way look primitive.
Re: Antares achieves criticality of Mark-0 reactor
#9I am still quite confused on the scientific consensus:
Should we double down on renewable energy and solve its issues with lots of batteries or should we invest in next generation nuclear energy?
Both at the same time?
Does anyone know?
Re: Antares achieves criticality of Mark-0 reactor
#10> "The Trump administration is proud to support the rebirth of America’s nuclear industry and ensuring Americans have access to affordable, reliable and secure energy for generations to come." > "The demonstration and the licensing pathway it establishes represent a key step toward deploying electricity-producing microreactors for U.S. military installations by September 30, 2028." So which is it? Power to the people…
"Antares is a nuclear fission energy company developing compact microreactors for defense and space applications"