World’s Smallest Nuclear Power Plant

Idaho is slated to be the site of an innovative nuclear power plant that’s hundreds of times smaller than traditional reactors and can be housed in an A-frame building. Known as Aurora, the new reactor differs from current designs in several ways.

For one, the fuel – high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU) – is basically nuclear waste that has been enriched to have a higher concentration of U-235. This provides more power per unit volume and longer core life. It’s been estimated that the reactor could run without refueling for twenty years.

Unlike gigawatt-scale reactors, the new system is sized to produce about 1.5 megawatts of power – enough to serve about 1,000 homes. And unlike traditional reactors, Aurora will not use water to slow down the fission reaction, enabling the overall size to be greatly reduced.

Perhaps most important, these novel power plants could change public perception of nuclear power in general by producing energy more safely and economically than their gigantic counterparts. For many experts, nuclear power continues to be a vital consideration for combatting climate change, and such an approach may be an important step in growing this segment of our power infrastructure.