> The nuclear plants need to be built near water, which means they're likely to end up near habitation.
Does it? Article says this new reactor is helium cooled and vents heat. No mention of water cooling.
Does it? Article says this new reactor is helium cooled and vents heat. No mention of water cooling.
The system described in the article punts the "how do we use the heat this system outputs" to some other facility/plant. It could use the heat directly in a variety of industrial processes, or it could be used to boil water for a steam turbine.
They don't all work that way.
The reactor is helium cooled. Their own collateral (https://usnc.com/mmr-energy-system/ ; annoying scrolljacking) shows shipping the heat to e.g. industrial process use or electricity generation - but for generation, you'll need a standard steam turbine + condenser setup. Which consumes water for cooling the condenser.
Also from their web page:
> FCM® fuel cannot be re-processed using currently available reprocessing schemes.
They list this as a nonproliferation benefit, but it has downsides.
So it's non-functional without a methane industry tuen. Got it.
Water or salt or sodium sounds more sustainable.