3 ms·

Is Uranium relatively easy to find to power these reactors, or is the next wave of startups going to be space/deep ocean mining operations to find it?

Moldoteck 2y ago
We have about 90 years of 'cheap' uranium, much more at increased price(which isn't that important for npp scale). If you factor in that at certain point reprocessing like Orano will be more economically profitable - we'll get in fact much more time to transition to fast/thorium reactors
DrBazza 2y ago
Thorium has been on the horizon forever. A bit like we'll have fusion in 30 years. No government wants to solely invest in it, because it can't really be weaponised. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorium-based_nuclear_power https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorium-based_nuclear_power
- Moldoteck 2y ago
  but you don't need reactors for weapons, you may as well build those without them, you just need an enrichment facility
  - Sakos 2y ago
    Proven by all the uranium 235 I've produced in Factorio before ever building a nuclear reactor.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- ViewTrick1002 2y ago
  No problem weaponizing Thorium. The US even tested bombs with material from the thorium fuel chain. Quite easily chemically separated. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranium-233 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranium-233
- mpweiher 2y ago
  Nobody invests "solely" in it, because Uranium is plenty cheap and plenty plentiful, and the Uranium infrastructure is in place.
- AtlasBarfed 2y ago
  China has an MSR online. Yes, it probably isn't using thorium yet, but a molten salt reactor is what's necessary in order to get to the thorium fuel cycle economically
throw0101d 2y ago
> Is Uranium relatively easy to find to power these reactors […] Yes. Uranium is (currently?) cheap and plentiful, to the point that nuclear 'waste' fuel reprocessing isn't generally economically worth it: it's cheaper to store in and buy new fuel. If the price of uranium does ever spike or becomes harder to get to, then reprocessing can become an option.
atomic128 2y ago
See discussion of the uranium mining situation here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41661768 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41661768 which includes a risky method of profiting from the adoption of nuclear power. More detail here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41746562 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41746562
preisschild 2y ago
Currently its (uranium-235) quite easy to find because the demand isn't really that high, but when the demand for nuclear power gets higher I'm sure we will see more seawater extraction / & breeders that use the much more plentiful uranium-238 or thorium-232 https://whatisnuclear.com/nuclear-sustainability.html https://whatisnuclear.com/nuclear-sustainability.html

Moldoteck 2y ago

We have about 90 years of 'cheap' uranium, much more at increased price(which isn't that important for npp scale). If you factor in that at certain point reprocessing like Orano will be more economically profitable - we'll get in fact much more time to transition to fast/thorium reactors

DrBazza 2y ago

Thorium has been on the horizon forever. A bit like we'll have fusion in 30 years. No government wants to solely invest in it, because it can't really be weaponised. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorium-based_nuclear_power https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorium-based_nuclear_power

Moldoteck 2y ago
but you don't need reactors for weapons, you may as well build those without them, you just need an enrichment facility
- Sakos 2y ago
  Proven by all the uranium 235 I've produced in Factorio before ever building a nuclear reactor.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
ViewTrick1002 2y ago
No problem weaponizing Thorium. The US even tested bombs with material from the thorium fuel chain. Quite easily chemically separated. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranium-233 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranium-233
mpweiher 2y ago
Nobody invests "solely" in it, because Uranium is plenty cheap and plenty plentiful, and the Uranium infrastructure is in place.
AtlasBarfed 2y ago
China has an MSR online. Yes, it probably isn't using thorium yet, but a molten salt reactor is what's necessary in order to get to the thorium fuel cycle economically

throw0101d 2y ago

> Is Uranium relatively easy to find to power these reactors […] Yes. Uranium is (currently?) cheap and plentiful, to the point that nuclear 'waste' fuel reprocessing isn't generally economically worth it: it's cheaper to store in and buy new fuel. If the price of uranium does ever spike or becomes harder to get to, then reprocessing can become an option.

atomic128 2y ago

See discussion of the uranium mining situation here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41661768 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41661768 which includes a risky method of profiting from the adoption of nuclear power. More detail here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41746562 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41746562

preisschild 2y ago

Currently its (uranium-235) quite easy to find because the demand isn't really that high, but when the demand for nuclear power gets higher I'm sure we will see more seawater extraction / & breeders that use the much more plentiful uranium-238 or thorium-232 https://whatisnuclear.com/nuclear-sustainability.html https://whatisnuclear.com/nuclear-sustainability.html