ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Division Spotlight
Operations & Power
Members focus on the dissemination of knowledge and information in the area of power reactors with particular application to the production of electric power and process heat. The division sponsors meetings on the coverage of applied nuclear science and engineering as related to power plants, non-power reactors, and other nuclear facilities. It encourages and assists with the dissemination of knowledge pertinent to the safe and efficient operation of nuclear facilities through professional staff development, information exchange, and supporting the generation of viable solutions to current issues.
Meeting Spotlight
2024 ANS Annual Conference
June 16–19, 2024
Las Vegas, NV|Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
Standards Program
The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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Nuclear Science and Engineering
June 2024
Nuclear Technology
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Latest News
Oklo to collaborate with Atomic Alchemy on isotope production
Fast reactor developer Oklo, which recently went public on the New York Stock Exchange, announced on May 13 that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Atomic Alchemy to cooperate on the production of radioisotopes for medical, energy, industry, and science applications.
G. Black, D. Shropshire, K. Araújo, A. van Heek
Nuclear Technology | Volume 209 | Number 1 | January 2023 | Pages S1-S20
Critical Review | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2022.2118626
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The nuclear energy sector is actively developing a new class of very small advanced reactors, called microreactors. This technology has disruptive potential as an alternative to carbon-intensive energy technologies based on its mobility and transportability, resilience, and independence from the grid, as well as its capacity for long refueling intervals and low-carbon emissions. Microreactors may extend nuclear energy to a new set of international customers, many of which are located where energy is at a price premium and/or limited to fossil sources. Developers are creating designs geared toward factory production where quality and costs may be optimized. This paper reviews the existing literature on the technology, potential markets, economic viability, and regulatory and institutional challenges of nuclear microreactors. The technological characteristics are reviewed to describe the wide range of microreactor designs and to distinguish them from large nuclear power plants and small modular reactor (SMR) designs.
The expanding literature on the cost competitiveness of SMRs relative to other nuclear and nonnuclear technologies is also reviewed, with an emphasis on understanding the challenges of making microreactors economically viable. A major part of this study focuses on the deployment potential of microreactors across global markets. Previous work on SMR market assessment is reviewed, and the adaptation of these studies to the deployment of microreactors is more fully examined. Characteristics that differentiate microreactors from SMRs and other energy technologies may make microreactors suitable for unique and localized applications if they can be economically competitive with other energy technologies, as well as meet regulatory and other societal requirements. Recent research on global markets for microreactors is evaluated and extended in this paper to a previously unevaluated use case in which microreactors can play a role in grid resiliency and integration with renewables. Further challenges associated with the commercialization of microreactors, in addition to cost competitiveness, are explored by examining the regulatory and safety challenges of microreactor deployment.