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Google commits to buying power generated by nuclear-energy startup Kairos Power

(www.wsj.com)
589 points atomic128 | 5 comments | 14 Oct 24 19:06 UTC | HN request time: 0.204s | source
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encoderer ◴[14 Oct 24 19:21 UTC] No.41840917[source]▶
Finally, 24 years in, it’s really starting to FEEL like a new century.
replies(6): >>41841021 #>>41841033 #>>41841105 #>>41841661 #>>41842611 #>>41843373 #
1. slashdave ◴[14 Oct 24 22:11 UTC] No.41842611[source]▶
Um, fission reactors are very much last century.
replies(2): >>41843234 #>>41846464 #
2. elcritch ◴[14 Oct 24 23:18 UTC] No.41843234[source]▶
Nah, those are the giant overly complex fission reactors. Now we're talking about sleek, much safer, miniature designs that are mass produced. Well, technically they're actually mass fueled. ;)
replies(1): >>41850641 #
3. Moldoteck ◴[15 Oct 24 08:54 UTC] No.41846464[source]▶
ap1000 and new smr designs - not quite
4. asdf000333 ◴[15 Oct 24 17:05 UTC] No.41850641[source]▶
Isn't this what they say every time there's a new reactor design? Then somehow there's still an accident like in Fukushima.
replies(1): >>41854628 #
5. elcritch ◴[16 Oct 24 00:55 UTC] No.41854628{3}[source]▶
No, not really? Fukushima first became operational in 1971. That's 40 years before that incident or 50 years ago.

Development of generation III+ "fail-safe" reactors began to be developed around 1990's. To my knowledge none of them have had accidents like Fukushima.

Also Fukushima didn't result in any, or nearly no, deaths. However, I do hear of major oil catastrophes every decade or less. Deep Horizon accident in 2010 in comparison had 11 fatalities, 17 injuries, and spilled 134 million gallons of oil polluting almost the entire Gulf of Mexico.

According to Google the history of "fail safe" reactors is:

> Development of Generation III+ reactors began in the 1990s. The Westinghouse AP1000 was the first Generation III+ reactor to receive final design certification from the NRC in 2005.