The Coming Age of the Personal Nuclear Reactor

Toshiba has developed a new class of micro size Nuclear Reactors that is designed to power individual buildings or city blocks. The new reactor, which is only 20 feet by 6 feet, could change everything for small remote communities, small businesses, neighborhoods and billionaires who want more control over their energy needs.

The 200 kilowatt Toshiba designed reactor is engineered to be fail-safe and totally automatic and will not overheat. Unlike traditional nuclear reactors the new micro reactor uses no control rods to initiate the reaction.

The new revolutionary technology uses reservoirs of liquid lithium-6, an isotope that is effective at absorbing neutrons. The Lithium-6 reservoirs are connected to a vertical tube that fits into the reactor core. The whole whole process is self sustaining and can last for up to 40 years, producing electricity for only 5 cents per kilowatt hour, about half the cost of grid energy.

Internet pundit John Dvorak calculated on his blog that annual operating costs around $87,500 and a total cost over 40 years of about $3.5 million. That's a price tag half of Google's staff could afford.

Toshiba expects to install the first reactor in Japan in 2008 and to begin marketing the new system in Europe and America in 2009.

Posted by Casey Kazan.

Story Link:

http://www.nextenergynews.com/news1/next-energy-news-toshiba-micro-nuclear-12.17b.html