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Hyperion Power Generation Nuclear "Battery"
A new type of smaller, safer nuclear power plant may be just what the world needs to meet growing energy demand without burning ever more oil or other fossil fuels.
Hyperion Power Generation, a New Mexico start-up licensing Los Alamos nuclear technology, is working on a mass-produced nuclear “battery” (the firm doesn’t like the word “reactor”) that is sealed up at the factory, shipped to a generating location and connected to a steam turbine, where it will generate electricity, essentially maintenance free, for 8-10 years, depending upon the load. When the “battery” goes dead, the module is disconnected and shipped back to the factory for refurbishment and refueling. There are no user-serviceable parts.
The nuke plant is tiny by modern standards, generating approximately 30MW of electricity, or enough power for about 20,000 homes. Traditional nuclear power plants — think containment domes and cooling towers — generate 1,000-to-1,600 megawatts of electricity. Hyperion plans to sell modules for $25 million each. Multiple modules can be co-located at a central site to generate higher power levels, or individual units can be positioned near energy customers.
Hyperion’s design is a modification of the TRIGA reactor that is actually licensed for unattended operation at universities for educational purposes.