The reason Bill Gates' nuclear reactor cannot compare with Russia's

The advanced nuclear reactor technology used by Bill Gates' company is said to be unmatched by Russian technology.

TerraPower company founded by Bill Gates is applying for permission to build a new generation nuclear power plant in Wyoming (USA) to promote this technology in Europe, Africa and Asia, competing with Russian rivals. and China. Will the billionaire's bold new project succeed?

Bill Gates' energy company Terrapower develops an innovative new reactor that prioritizes clean energy. (Photo: Slashgear).

According to Sputnik (Russia), the US company TerraPower has participated in the global nuclear energy market to compete with Russia and China. The company claims its sodium-cooled fast reactor called Natrium is safer, cheaper and more energy efficient than water-cooled power plants.

Part of the small modular reactor (SMR) class , Natrium is said to be capable of producing 345 megawatts (MW) and can be increased to 500 MW over five and a half hours if needed.

Obstacles stand in TerraPower's way

But according to Alexey Anpilogov, a Russian political scientist and expert in the field of nuclear energy, the technology that TerraPower exploits is nothing new. The concept of using fast reactors cooled with sodium and depleted uranium-238 as fuel was explored in detail in 1958 by physicists at the Soviet Union's Kurchatov Institute.

Mr Anpilogov told Sputnik: ' The TerraPower system uses liquid sodium for cooling [which does not reduce neutron speed], because it is important for uranium-238 to have fast neutrons to cause fission. But this reactor has nuclear safety problems. During the fission of uranium-238 that occurs in this reactor, more plutonium-239 is produced, and plutonium-239 is the best raw material for the production of nuclear weapons."

Illustration of TerraPower's reactor.

It is still unclear what will happen to the plutonium created from the nuclear reaction, especially if Bill Gates' company supplies this technology to third countries.

Expert Anpilogov noted that the issue of nuclear proliferation has haunted TerraPower for quite a long time. He said: 'Even though TerraPower was founded in 2008, almost 16 years ago, it has yet to receive some of the necessary permits to build a pilot testing facility. I think the issue of nuclear security, specifically the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, will be a 'sword' hanging over Bill Gates' project."

Scientist Anpilogov noted that while the Soviet Union - and later the Russian Federation - mastered the production and exploitation of sodium-cooled fast reactors, similar projects in Japan and France was finally closed.

'Despite possessing a good technical school and a generally high level of technological production, the French and Japanese projects turned out to be unreliable. Meanwhile, Russia has developed a proven operating technology. Bill Gates has a great idea. But this idea still needs to be turned into reality to achieve stability in all parameters ," Anpilogov said.

According to the Financial Times, TerraPower and other US energy companies are trying to catch up with their rivals in Russia and China, which are operating small, cost-effective SMR reactors at Pevek and Shidao Bay.

Bill Gates' nuclear power plant in Kemmerer, Wyoming.

Russia's floating nuclear power plant (FNPP) in Pevek is equipped with two KLT-40S pressurized water nuclear reactors, while China uses a gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) to provide power for the Shidao Bay Nuclear Plant.

Expert Anpilogov said that when it comes to sodium fast-cooled reactors, this technology has been used in Russia's BN series high-power nuclear devices.

He pointed to the BN-800 reactor operating at Beloyarsk Unit 4 near the town of Zarechny, Sverdlovsk region, Russia. This reactor has a power generation capacity of 880 MW.

"Russia has implemented clear procedures for the BN-800 regarding how the fuel and its byproducts are used because the BN-800 also produces weapons-grade plutonium-239, but it continuously disposed of with the same type of fuel produced ', expert Anpilogov explained. "We have no problem with the US, as some external controlling force, or with the IAEA, which is formal authorization by the United Nations to monitor the nuclear non-proliferation regime".

Conquer the EU energy market

According to the Financial Times, TerraPower has received a commitment from the US government worth $2 billion to build a new nuclear power plant in Kemmerer, Wyoming.

TerraPower CEO Chris Levesque said the company will begin construction work in June 2024. The new nuclear power plant is expected to begin operations in 2030.

Last December, TerraPower signed an agreement with Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation to supply Natrium reactors to the UAE.

"Nuclear energy has great commercial attributes but it also has huge geopolitical implications. You have to look at the competition coming from China and Russia, who are looking at Africa, Indonesia and other countries." elsewhere is the future market ," Mr. Anpilogov said.

He noted that the US is trying to force Russia as well as European rivals out of the nuclear fuel market. Washington has forced Europe to give up using Russian nuclear fuel as part of sanctions.

In addition, US energy companies are seeking to increase their share of the nuclear reactor construction market to the detriment of both Russian and European manufacturers.

Mr. Anpilogov commented that "the nuclear energy industry still has high risks, these risks are not due to nuclear accidents but are the risks of ill-considered investments".