Toshiba and Bill Gates Plot Mini Nuclear Reactors

March 23, 2010 By Nick Mokey

Talks between the former Microsoft CEO and the Japanese tech titan may yield mini reactors that could power the the U.S. on existing nuclear waste for two centuries.

Convinced the future of green energy lies in wind, solar or ethanol? Bill Gates has a different idea: Revisiting the nuclear reactor. Hopefully, he can get one to crash less than Windows.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Gates and Toshiba are coordinating to develop small-scale nuclear reactors through TerraPower, a company run by former Microsoft executive Nathan Myhrvold and partially run on funding from Gates.

Gates specifically backs a new a new type of reactor known as a traveling wave reactor (TWR). As he explained in a February keynote at TED, a TWR could actually use the depleted uranium currently being produced as a waste product of existing nuclear reactors. According to Gates, just the existing waste currently squirreled away in hazardous waste sites could power the U.S. for two centuries. Each reactor would potentially produce between a few hundred watts and a gigawatt of energy – enough to power a small city.

Toshiba has been working independently toward a similar goal: a small-scale nuclear reactor that can run for 30 years continuously. So far, Gates and Toshiba haven’t announced any official collaboration, but are in talks that could lead to joint investment and development.

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Apaga y vámonos « Blog del DoctorSito at 11:55am 27th March 2012 [...] ante la perspectiva de utilizar minirreactores nucleares comercializando por EEUU, China, Rusia y Japón, porque, aún siendo instalaciones peligrosas, su despliegue requeriría una inversión financiera [...]
rafe03 at 11:39pm 17th December 2010 Mini Nuclear Reactors have been in service in Canada & world wide for years. Just Google "Slowpoke Reactor"; or "Slow Poke Reactor" - Also in Wikipedia Built in the early 70's by the Canadian Atomic Energy Commission in Chalk River, Ontario, they were intended to be a reactor for R & D. Serious investigations were made for it's development as an auxiliary power supply for Diesel Submarines, combined heat & power units for communities up north in the Yukon, Nuclear Medicine, Nuclear physics Research, etc. They were designed to be "self tending" similar to the recently proposed 200 kilowatt Toshiba designed reactor units. I can't remember if "modularation" was considered at that time.but they would be a natural for multi unit Modular Power Supply's. They had been approved for overnight un-man operation. Nuclear technology, instrumentation, materials, fuel handling, & lots of other related systems have had 40 or 50 years of advancement to improve the efficiency & cost of the units if used as a model for new units. I've not updated my knowledge since I was involved in some of the marine application investigations in the 80's so there's probably been a lot of low key ongoing upgrading developments. Several SlowPokes were built for Universities in Toronto, Jamaica, Saskatchewan, China, etc. Google & Wikipedia can probably confirm the numbers & sizes put into operation. I recall the first units were 20Kw base load, 30 Kw for peaking. Later units were to be larger (how much?) & be more specifically suitable for different applications. Still, there's years & years of operational experience that will help to refine any current reactor designs like modularizing, co-generation, & operation in remote locations. Regulators will love stacks & stacks of documentation on years of successful operational service There's still a lot of energy generating possibilities hiding just under the media radar. We live in interesting times! Rafe03 Victoria BC
j jolly at 2:06pm 16th December 2010 India should go for the mini nuclear reactors and collaborate with Bill Gates and Toshiba.Such reactors can be useful for nuclear propulsion in submarines and ships.They can be modified to be used in space explorations.They can find applications for the military as well.