Related papers: Evaluating Advanced Nuclear Fission Technologies f…
Fusion energy is often regarded as a long-term solution to the world's energy needs. However, even after solving the critical research challenges, engineering and materials science will still impose significant constraints on the…
Many governments are considering constructing new nuclear power plants to support the decarbonization of the energy system. On the one hand, dispatchable nuclear plants can complement fluctuating generation from wind and PV. On the other…
Recent pledges to triple global nuclear capacity by 2050 suggest a "nuclear renaissance," bolstered by unconventional reactor concepts such as sodium-cooled fast reactors, high-temperature reactors, and molten salt reactors. These…
Swift and deep decarbonisation of electricity generation is central to enabling a timely transition to net-zero emission energy systems. While future power systems will likely be dominated by variable renewables (VRE), studies have…
Fusion could be a part of future decarbonized electricity systems, but it will need to compete with other technologies. In particular, pulsed tokamak plants have a unique operational mode, and evaluating which characteristics make them…
Low carbon synfuel can displace transport fossil fuels such as diesel and jet fuel and help achieve the decarbonization of the transportation sector at a global scale, but large-scale cost-effective production facilities are needed.…
This paper evaluates the cost competitiveness of microreactors in today's electricity markets, with a focus on uncertainties in reactor costs. A Genetic Algorithm (GA) is used to optimize key technical parameters, such as reactor capacity,…
The central question we seek to address in this paper is: How rapidly do the operating cost benefits of grid-scale energy storage decline as installed storage capacity increases? We use a 240-bus model based on the US Western…
Presently, it is well established that fission of excited nuclei is a dynamical process being a subject of fluctuations and dissipation. In the literature, there are indications that, at the compact nucleus shapes, the strength of nuclear…
The general scheme of power installations based on nuclear reactions of fission and synthesis activated by external sources is analyzed. The external activation makes possible to support nuclear reactions at temperatures and pressures lower…
We identify potential early markets for fusion energy and their projected cost targets, based on analysis and synthesis of many relevant, recent studies and reports. Because private fusion companies aspire to start commercial deployment…
Deuterium-tritium fusion reactions produce high-energy neutrons that can transmute materials into valuable isotopes. Over the next ten years, the cost of fusion neutrons is projected to decrease by roughly seven orders of magnitude. Most…
Thermal fission energy is one of the basic parameters needed in the calculation of antineutrino flux for reactor neutrino experiments. It is useful to improve the precision of the thermal fission energy calculation for current and future…
A modeling framework is presented to investigate trade-offs among decarbonization from increased low-carbon electricity generation and electrification of heating and vehicles. The model is broadly applicable but relies on high-fidelity…
Future advanced nuclear rocket propulsion, and the availability of new nuclear power cycle designs, will benefit substantially from the large current investment in alternative nuclear energy that is underway today. We propose a new nuclear…
A long-term strategy based on existing technological, ecological, economical, and geopolitical realities is urgently needed to develop a sustainable energy economy, which should be designed with adaptability to unpredicted changes in any of…
In the course of the energy transition, energy generation from nuclear power - through nuclear fission and perhaps in the future through nuclear fusion - is often proposed as an alternative or supplement to renewable energy sources. There…
Grid-connected hybrid renewable power systems with energy storage can reduce the intermittency of renewable power supply. However, emerging energy storage technologies need improvement to compete with lithium-ion batteries and reduce the…
The availability of high-intensity, heavy-ion beams coupled to sensitive, large solid-angleacceptance spectrometers has enabled a detailed examination of the fission fragments produced in induced-fission reactions. The abrasion-fission…
Building heat electrification is central to economy-wide decarbonization efforts and directly affects energy infrastructure planning through increasing electricity demand and reducing the building sector's use of gas infrastructure that…