Can Nuclear Batteries Be Economically Competitive in Large Markets?

Jacopo Buongiorno, Ben Carmichael, Bradley Dunkin, John Parsons and Dirk Smit
Additional contact information
Jacopo Buongiorno: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
Ben Carmichael: Southern Company, Atlanta, GA 30308, USA
Bradley Dunkin: Advanced Manufacturing Solutions, Portland, OR 97086, USA
John Parsons: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
Dirk Smit: Shell Global Solutions B.V., Grasweg 31, 1031 HW Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 14, 1-20

Abstract: We introduce the concept of the nuclear battery, a standardized, factory-fabricated, road transportable, plug-and-play micro-reactor. Nuclear batteries have the potential to provide on-demand, carbon-free, economic, resilient, and safe energy for distributed heat and electricity applications in every sector of the economy. The cost targets for nuclear batteries in these markets are 20–50 USD/MWh t (6–15 USD/MMBTU) and 70–115 USD/MWh e for heat and electricity, respectively. We present a parametric study of the nuclear battery’s levelized cost of heat and electricity, suggesting that those cost targets are within reach. The cost of heat and electricity from nuclear batteries is expected to depend strongly on core power rating, fuel enrichment, fuel burnup, size of the onsite staff, fabrication costs and financing. Notional examples of cheap and expensive nuclear battery designs are provided.

Keywords: portable micro-reactors; cost of heat and electricity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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