A power company co-founded by Microsoft‘s Bill Gates has announced plans to begin building a new type of nuclear power plant in the US this summer.
TerraPower revealed it plans to apply for the necessary permits this month to start construction on a next-generation nuclear reactor at the start of June in Kemmerer, Wyoming.
The Washington-based firm has received an estimated $1 billion in funding from private investors, which will be combined with a promised $2 billion from the US government.
The reactor is unique in the world of nuclear power, as it is cooled with liquid sodium rather than water – an efficient strategy, but one that has proven dangerous in some cases because of sodium’s explosive reaction if it touches water.
TerraPower’s announcement puts it in a nuclear energy race against Russia and China.
The two superpowers are working to develop and export cheaper reactors, and the Natrium one represents TerraPower’s attempt to enter that market, the Financial Times reported.
In December, the company inked an agreement with Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation.
That deal will see TerraPower exploring the use of its Natrium reactors to not only generate electricity in the United Arab Emirates, but also produce hydrogen – a notoriously energy-hungry process.
TerraPower CEO Chris Levesque told FT that they plan to apply this month for the necessary permits to begin construction in June, but whether or not the company has received approval yet, they will begin building then.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is in charge of approving construction of new nuclear powerplants.
The next-generation reactor, called ‘Natrium,’ can be built for half the cost of water-cooled ones, the standard nuclear power technology for decades, Levesque said.
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