The Nuclear Battery Program: Progress and Future Possibilities

Abstract

The Nuclear Battery is an advanced small reactor being developed by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) to produce electricity, and/or high-temperature steam heat, in locations remote from utility grids or natural gas pipelines. It features a novel passive primary heat transport system based on liquid-metal heat pipes, extraordinary passive safety based on the use of coated-particle fuel, and burnable neutron poisons in a solid graphite moderator. The reference design is capable of producing about 600 kW of electricity or about 2400 kW of steam heat in a base-load mode for 15 full-power years without refuelling. This paper reviews the technical progress, present activities and future goals of the Nuclear Battery R and D support program. Also, some of the alternate design approaches to increase the thermal power output from the Nuclear Battery and, hence, to further reduce its unit energy cost, are briefly outlined and compared.