3
We’ve made great progress. During the last couple years, we have made great strides in advancing the design and engineering of the traveling wave reactor beyond the traditional research and development stage. We have adopted the lessons learned from previous reference plants. We have incorporated research and operating results, coupled them with the most advanced analytical and engineering tools, and engaged the joint efforts of leading experts and institutions from around the world. We have been able to complete the essential conceptual design and have progressed to the engineering design stage. We’ve also started many key materials and fuel testing programs to further our confidence in this technology. We are hoping that, with the right partners on board, we can quickly move into the detailed engineering design. Furthermore, we hope to combine our partners'strengths with ours to successfully build the prototype traveling wave reactor plant by the year 2023. In addition to the safety improvement inherent in the Generation IV reactor design, traveling wave reactor technology can use depleted uranium and simplify the fuel cycle. It produces substantially less waste, making the issue of fuel disposal less complex. Eventually, it should even be able to use spent light water reactor fuel, using it as a fuel source and further reducing the need to store spent fuel. For all these reasons, it will improve the economic competitiveness of nuclear power in the future. I believe this is a breakthrough approach and that with the combined efforts of our partners, we can achieve our goal to provide safe, economic, environmentally friendly and sustainable nuclear energy to the entire world. Q: We all know that nuclear energy is a scientific and rational choice for energy development considering the sustainable development of world economy and improvement of human living environment. However, there are different voices about the development of nuclear power. How do you deal with those different opinions? What do you think about the nuclear safety and the nuclear non-proliferation? A: We recognize that there are a number of concerns with nuclear technology, mainly revolving around safety, waste, and weapons proliferation. We just had the second anniversary of the Fukushima disaster and, with North Korea in the news now around proliferation concerns, we need to responsibly and reasonably address these concerns. TerraPower’s goal is to develop a new technology that will set an even higher standard that will address legitimate concerns over safety and weapons proliferation. Nuclear is very, very safe today, but we believe this design will make it dramatically safer. It relies on natural laws of physics to mitigate accident scenarios like the one at Fukushima. It efficiently uses an inexpensive fuel source. It reduces the need for enrichment and chemical reprocessing and simplifies the fuel cycle. These characteristics will make it much more difficult to convert uranium into materials that can be used in nuclear weapons. We view all of these as tremendously positive attributes and have been encouraged that so many others share this view. Q: I heard that you have met with Chairman XI Jinping during your attending of Boao Forum. Could you reveal us a little about topics of the meeting? What’s your comment on China’s development of nuclear energy? What do you think of your international cooperate partner in nuclear energy and its G4 technology? A: I was honored to meet with Chairman Xi in Bo'ao and we discussed the opportunity China has to improve the well being of the poor around the world. China's record of lifting 600 million people out of poverty in just a few decades provides a rich source of expertise that could benefit many other countries, particularly those in Africa. Regarding China’s development of nuclear energy, it leads the nuclear sector with 40 percent of all new plants being built in the world. I believe China’s program will become an example for other countries in scaling up nuclear power responsibly. With the scale of its program and its technical talent, it will become a leading innovator as well as constructor of nuclear power plants. |
Powered by Discuz! X3.2 © 2001-2013 Comsenz Inc.
