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Comment by cbmuser | Hacker News Reader

Even if the battery has 100% efficiency, the amount of electric energy one would need to store for a single day, on top of the normal power consumption, is just way too much.

Nuclear reactions have the highest energy density of any of the technology available to mankind.

Thus, with evergrowing energy needs, nuclear power will always remain the only scalable, carbon-free technology.

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Ironically, the introduction of battery storage makes nuclear more price competitive with coal and gas since it can run at a steady state and the battery can smooth out the demand fluctuations. This is why a lot of pumped hydro is built in conjunction with nuclear.

But since solar and wind get cheaper from the same effect, it doesn't really help nuclear much.

The failure to properly use nuclear power might be the single saddest thing about modern technology use by humanity.

In a 100 years you will look back and write Hacker News comments and say 'but they had the technology in the 60s, why were they not using it. It makes no sense'.

Nuclear is great for steady, base-loads, but it doesn't do variability well. Demand is highly variable throughout the day.

Batteries, like this system, convert steady base load into variable output by storing energy. Fill up at night, then output when needed during the day.

Batteries make nuclear energy more viable.

So you'd support the construction of twenty new reactors in Iran to help them meet their energy needs without burning so much oil?

Yes

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