Nuclear – part of the clean energy mix.
We contribute to a clean planet by developing a reliable nuclear reactor that makes efficient use of fuel and minimizes radioactive waste. In the future, we foresee several clean energy technologies that function in synergy. This mix should provide affordable and reliable energy for all, fulfilling a basic human necessity.
Energy – more than just electricity.
Conversations about clean energy often concentrate on decarbonising electricity through solar power or wind mills. However, electricity generation only accounts for approximately 25% of greenhouse emissions. On top of that, electricity cannot supply some of society’s other needs – just think of heating and clean fuels. Instead, fossil fuels are still largely used to produce these types of energies. The decarbonisation challenge is thus larger than producing clean electricity.
Clean steam – a desired product.
While our molten salt reactor design is an obvious product of our efforts, the real but less-obvious product is high temperature steam. This is what comes out of the reactor and can be used for various purposes. It can be used directly to drive industrial processes and thus replace fossil fuels. Or it can be efficiently transformed into other clean energy forms such as electricity, hydrogen, and fuels. This variability is what makes nuclear power so complementary to other sources of clean energy and a solid replacement for fossil fuels.
Source: IEA/OECD.
Emissions – similar to those of windenergy.
During the steam production process, no CO2 is emitted. That is because no carbon is used in nuclear fuel. There are however, greenhouse gas emissions during construction, mining processes, and eventual decommissioning. Adding these up results in a similar amount of emissions per unit of energy as wind-power.
