Nuclear energy breakthroughs developed at OSU

New reactor from technology developed at OSU helps ensure safe, clean nuclear energy

By: Robert Ingle

Posted: 7/23/08

The ability to create 45 megawatts of power - enough energy to sustain 45,000 homes in a safe and environmentally friendly method - could be seen in the near future because of developments in nuclear energy by an Oregon State spinout company.

NuScale Power Inc., the company developing the nuclear reactor technology, was created from research that began in 2000 by Oregon State University, the Idaho National Laboratory and Nexant Inc., an energy firm and subsidiary of Bechtel Corporation.

The goal of the startup is to commercialize a small, light, water modular reactor that is easily manufactured, transportable, and most importantly, completely safe.

Since the mid-1990s, OSU has been researching "passive" safety systems, failsafe methods which have been approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

These systems work through the natural methods of condensation and convection, and take out the need for pumps and external power to cool the reactor in the event of a malfunction. Addressing safety needs has been a consideration of NuScale Power and Oregon State engineers due to uncertain public sentiments regarding nuclear power.

Despite concerns, Jose Reyes, professor and head of the OSU Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Health Physics and chief technical officer of NuScale Power, believes that people are ready to embrace nuclear power.

"The attitudes towards nuclear power have changed a lot," Reyes said. "People are getting serious about global warming and that is driving interest away from oil and coal-burning. Of the environmentally friendly, large-capacity sources of electricity, hydro-electric and nuclear are it."

Beyond possible negative public perception, however, other issues remain in the way of transforming this technology into reality.

A Massachusetts Institute of Technology study on the future of nuclear energy describes four main obstacles with the power source that need to be overcome: the relatively high costs, perceived safety hazards, proliferation risks and after-management of nuclear waste.

The reactor concept addresses these concerns by being small, low-profile, factory-manufactured, and easy to monitor in order to prevent proliferation, while also having the passive safety system to further nullify dangers from the reactor itself, Reyes said.

As for waste disposal, the U.S. Department of Energy has begun initiatives that are furthering already-advanced nuclear fuel recycling technologies in an attempt to reduce the volume of nuclear waste.

The positive economic impact that the reactor would have domestically is a point that Reyes stresses, as the concept would be mass-produced entirely in the United States rather than through Japan Steel Works Ltd., the company that currently fabricates the nuclear reactor vessels.

NuScale Power already has commitments from three facilities that have stated that they could produce the steel vessel to nuclear quality standards.

Once produced, the reactor and parts would travel to their destination by train, rail, or barge, as they were designed even in their largest forms to be small enough to be shipped by those methods.

After arriving at its destination, the light water reactor's ability to be incrementally built up would be another economic benefit for investors since it would permit both power to be distributed sooner and investments to be recovered by investors earlier than would be possible if using the current 1000-megawatt nuclear plant.

Already, OSU has applied for three patents stemming from the research and, according to Reyes, this, along with several others, is the main reason why OSU's nuclear engineering program has nearly tripled in the past four years.

"There are no other departments in the country that are involved in the certification effort," Reyes said.

"Our students are getting trained on the state-of-the-art technology on the process of how to do the certification work and how to interact with the government and [engineering] industry. It's a tremendous teaching experience and students are getting a very comprehensive and hands-on education."

With a preliminary meeting to introduce their concept to the Nuclear Regulation Committee on July 24, the engineers at NuScale Power start the long and arduous process of certifying their technology, something that likely won't be complete until 2015.

After that, they remain optimistic that their technology will be a breakthrough in energy production and have a major impact domestically as well as in developing countries.