How to make nuclear energy sustainable
Nuclear energy does not produce any CO2 emissions and it provides affordable and reliable electricity. The challenges surrounding nuclear energy relate to the safety of nuclear power stations and the reuse and storage of the spent nuclear fuel.
How is Delft contributing?
The research into nuclear energy at Delft is focusing on the physics of fourth-generation nuclear power stations. The installations that are currently being built in such countries as Finland and China are known as Generation 3 reactors. These are already very safe (in that the nuclear chain reaction automatically shuts down in the event of abnormal operating conditions), but they do still require several redundant emergency cooling systems. Furthermore, the use of uranium needs to be more efficient.
The fourth-generation reactors are safer still − some concepts do not even require any emergency cooling systems − and produce a minimum of nuclear waste. Up to 100 times less uranium is used in the fourth-generation fast-breeder reactors than in the present generation. Furthermore, the period for which the waste must be stored has been reduced to 500 to 5000 years.
In Delft the principal focus is on the High-Temperature Reactor and the futuristic Molten Salt Reactor. Read more about the research into fourth-generation nuclear reactors.
Plus:
The Reactor Institute Delft manages TU Delft's experimental nuclear reactor. The reactor is mainly used to develop novel materials for renewable energy applications (e.g. batteries and solar cells) and for researching medical diagnostics and tumour therapy. Read more on the Reactor Institute Delft website.
