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Molten salt reactors were developed in the 1950s as an alternative to water reactors, and Seaborg Technologies, a Danish company, has updated this technology. To do this, at near atmospheric pressure, it uses a fluoride salt that is in a solid state until it reaches 500°C and then melts, allowing it to flow into the reactor, mixing with the uranium and causing it to cool. If the fuel is exposed to air, the salt solidifies with the nuclear fuel inside and forms a rock that is poorly soluble in water, which is a key safety feature.
On the other hand, if the temperature begins to rise uncontrollably, there is a salt plug at the bottom that immediately melts causing the reactor core to empty and the contents to fall into a series of refrigerated drain tanks below.
There are many reasons that led Seaborg to the development of this technology, for example:
Seaborg states that they are not going to reduce the probability of an accident to zero because it is impossible, but they can reduce the consequences. He proposes various sizes ranging from 200 MWe to 800 MWe and it only takes 3 years from the time they receive an order until the reactor is ready to be connected to the grid.
In the immediate future, they are going to use Korean shipyards, thus taking advantage of their supply chains and huge production capacity, making it easier to mass-produce this type of ship without losing quality.
With this working method, they could deploy reactors that reach 95% of the world's production, and especially in island regions such as Southeast Asia, which is where the first order has come from, and where there are almost 1 billion people who will need coal and gas energy comparable to what is being released in the world today. So even if the other half of the planet is decarbonized, they will produce the same amount of electricity if there are no alternatives.
The next steps are to have the prototype ready for operation in Southeast Asia by 2025, get regulatory approval for its design by 2026 and start series production by 2027.
However, this path is not free of obstacles:
Fuente: Seaborg Technologies