Stumbled across this last night: http://www.hyperionpowergeneration.com/

According to their claims, they'll be able to construct an essentially non-meltdownable nuclear battery delivering 70MWt (or 25MWe with a steam turbine) with a capital cost of $1400/kW for a period of 7-10 years (though at the same time they claim refueling every five), on a size of only 1.5 meters across. At first glance, this seems like it would provide for a fairly decent power source for a nuclear navy. OTOH, it seems too good to be true and I'm always suspicious of that. Can anyone who knows more about the area in question clear up whether their claims are realistic, and if so, whether such a thing would be suitable for naval propulsion, and if not, why not?

http://www.energy-daily.c...ar_Power_Reactor_999.html

First Transportable Nuclear Power Reactor by Staff Writers
Los Alamos NM (SPX) Aug 14, 2008
Hyperion Power Generation's CEO, John R. 'Grizz" Deal has announced that the company has received its first Letter of Intent to purchase the Hyperion Power Module (HPM), a small, compact, transportable, nuclear power reactor. The intention to purchase up to six units for various projects, at approximately $25 million each, was placed by TES Group, an investment company focusing on the energy sector in Central Eastern Europe.

If successful, they could potentially be in the market for up to 50 HPMs. Each power module provides 27 megawatts of electricity when connected to a steam turbine, enough to provide electricity for 20,000 average-size American-style homes or the industrial equivalent.

'The Hyperion Power Module was originally conceived to provide clean, affordable power for remote industrial applications such as oil sands operations," said Deal.

'Yet, the initial enthusiasm has been from those needing reliable electricity for communities. The big question for the 21st century is, 'how do we provide safe energy to those who need it, indeed those developing nations who demand it, without contributing to climate change?' Today's safer, proliferation-resistant nuclear power technology is the answer, but it's not feasible for every community to be tied to a large nuclear power plant.

"Some communities, those that need power for just the most basic humanitarian infrastructure, such as clean water production for household use and irrigation, are too remote for conventional nuclear power. This is where the Hyperion Power Module, a safe, secure, transportable power generator can help."

Conceived at Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Hyperion Power Module intellectual property portfolio has been licensed to Hyperion Power Generation for commercialization under the laboratory's technology transfer program.

Inherently safe and proliferation-resistant, the HPM utilizes the energy of low-enriched uranium fuel in a technology unlike any other currently in use or in development. Approximately 4,000 units of the same design will be produced, sealed and shipped from company manufacturing sites.




http://historypoliticsand...ble-nuclear-reactors.html

Defenatly got to be to good to be true.

skipper101 wrote:

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Defenatly got to be to good to be true.

Might be, but it comes from some work done at Sandia. I suspect that their engineering is sound, but I also suspect that these are less than suitable for maritime or naval use.

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Minor correction: it's from work done at Los Alamos National Laboratory, not Sandia.

Hyperion - as proposed - is a molten core reactor. That is, the core itself is liquid and is pumped around a loop through the boiler tubes. Also as proposed, it has no control rods. Instead, it relies - somehow - on the physical and neutronic design to keep temperature at some steady value (550-C, IIRC).

If they intend to build them in the US, they need an NRC license (many years away and they have not applied). The NRC regulations require a prototype and ops data before a non-LWR can be get into serious late review for a license. That's one reason why the pebble bed reactor has had such trouble. Hyperion would need lots of capital to finish design, build a prototype, operate it, and get data.

At the moment, I'm sorry to say but that this seems like a hand-wave reactor. Nonetheless, if one looks at the IAEA conference agenda for the one going on currently in Vienna, one can see that Hyperion sprung the necessary few thousand to have an exhibit over there. I wish them luck.

Pseudo Science. Pipe dream.

Mike

Energy density around 20MW/m3 - sounds far too high for me. How they are removing all that heat? 5+MW/m2 surface heat flux is a lot.

You're comparing Energy DEnsity with Surface flux. Apples and oranges.



Also 5 MW/M2 isn't all that high.



Mike

What is the usual max energy density in nuke plants?

That TES Group is apparently a not too large Romanian-based firm doing mainly lighting power optimization, with no nuclear experience. So take their interest with a grain of salt.

I just posted earlier it was pseudo science.

Depends on the Reactor type.