French researchers managed to keep plasma stable for 22 minutes, a 25% improvement over the previous record. Scientists are working to bump that up to several hours to make nuclear fusion power generators viable.
The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) announced a major milestone in the advancements in plasma duration inside a nuclear reactor, by maintaining plasma for 1,337 seconds. This new record represents a 25% improvement over the previous record set by East in China just weeks earlier.
This equals 22 minutes of plasma maintained inside the fusion reactor before it dissipated or became unstable. This technology would use less fuel than a fission nuclear reactor, and produce less radioactive waste, making it key to future energy generation. READ MORE...
Offering a unique approach to powering data centers through nuclear energy, Deep Fission and Endeavour Energy have announced a strategic partnership. Their agreement plans to bury small modular reactors (SMRs) a mile underground.
“As part of the agreement, Endeavour and Deep Fission have committed to co-developing 2 gigawatts (GW) of nuclear energy to power Endeavour’s expanding global portfolio of Edged data centers,” said Deep Fission in a press release. Notably, the first reactors are expected to be operational by 2029.
Deep Fission, a nuclear energy company, is pioneering this new approach. They have designed small nuclear reactors that are lowered into 30-inch boreholes drilled a mile deep.
Innovative approach with several benefits This method takes advantage of the natural geological properties at that depth. The earth provides robust containment and constant pressure. This eliminates the need for the massive concrete structures typically used for containment in aboveground nuclear reactors.
This approach offers several advantages. It significantly reduces the cost of construction and minimizes the environmental impact by decreasing the surface footprint of the reactor. READ MORE...
Euronews Next went behind the scenes at the world’s largest nuclear fusion device attempting to harness the same reaction that powers the Sun and stars.
In the heart of Provence, some of the brightest scientific minds on the planet are setting the stage for what is being called the world’s largest and most ambitious science experiment.
"We are building arguably the most complex machine ever designed," confided Laban Coblentz.
The task at hand is to demonstrate the feasibility of harnessing nuclear fusion - the same reaction powering our Sun and stars - at an industrial scale. READ MORE..
LONDON — The UK Space Agency said Friday it would back research by Rolls-Royce looking at the use of nuclear power on the moon.
In a statement, the government agency said researchers from Rolls-Royce had been working on a Micro-Reactor program “to develop technology that will provide power needed for humans to live and work on the Moon.”
The UKSA will now provide £2.9 million (around $3.52 million) of funding for the project, which it said would “deliver an initial demonstration of a UK lunar modular nuclear reactor.”
The new money builds upon £249,000 provided by the UKSA to fund a study in 2022.
“All space missions depend on a power source, to support systems for communications, life-support and science experiments,” it said.
“Nuclear power has the potential to dramatically increase the duration of future Lunar missions and their scientific value.”
Rolls-Royce is set to work with a range of organizations on the project, including the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre and Nuclear AMRC, and the University of Oxford.
“Developing space nuclear power offers a unique chance to support innovative technologies and grow our nuclear, science and space engineering skills base,” Paul Bate, chief executive of the UK Space Agency, said.
Bate added that Rolls-Royce’s research “could lay the groundwork for powering continuous human presence on the Moon, while enhancing the wider UK space sector, creating jobs and generating further investment.”
According to the UKSA, Rolls-Royce — not to be confused with Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, which is owned by BMW — is aiming “to have a reactor ready to send to the Moon by 2029.”
Dhara Patel, space expert at the National Space Centre in Leicester, England, told CNBC that humans returning to the moon would need “a reliable power source” so astronauts could “live and work on our lunar neighbour for long-term missions.”
“Solar power would seem an obvious choice but the Moon’s rotation results in a two-week day followed by a fortnight of darkness or night time — not ideal,” Patel went on to explain.
“With little air and no liquid water on the surface, other renewable sources of energy aren’t possible,” she said. “Nuclear power could enable a continuous source of power regardless of the physical environment and conditions on the lunar surface.”
Using nuclear power on the moon, Patel noted, could boost the lifetime of lunar missions. READ MORE...
