WEBVTT
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Thank you very much, Andrea.
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today we're gonna be looking at nuclear power the global outlook, where it stands and then the US outlook on existing and proposed projects.
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And we're also touch on the different types of reactors.
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We're seeing some interesting development in the types of reactors.
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And finally the application.
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Of the power generated and the fact that nuclear is green energy.
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Next slide please.
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the US Department of Energy's view, started with the last administration.
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it's a zero emissions clean energy source.
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it's fission.
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the fusion reactors continue to be more sci-fi than, than reality.
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so we're splitting.
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Uranian atoms to produce heat, and then that heat is released, to create steam and spinning turbines after that turbine is similar to a, a combined cycle power plant if it was powered by, natural gas or, an LNG plant.
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the land footprint is quite small.
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A thousand megawatt nuclear facility in the US needs a little more than one square mile.
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The, the NEI that I reference here is the Nuclear Energy Institute.
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And it's fascinating that wind farms and solar, needs so much more land to produce the same amount.
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While we do see footprints that we think are large, it's mostly due to security on the perimeter of the plans themselves.
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Next slide please.
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currently.
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the World Economic Forum, is pushing and showing many reasons why nuclear is important for the, global.
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Power needs and cradle grave lowest carbon footprint and needs fewer materials and less land than other electrical sources.
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uranium in the Earth's crust is more abundant than gold, platinum, and other rare metals at current rates.
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It'll take about a hundred to 150 years to get through the uranium resources we deem economically recoverable today.
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And nuclear power doesn't rely on the weather.
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It's, safe as solar.
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It's safer than coal, gas, oil, and almost any other alternative energy source.
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That particular factoid comes from the International Atomic Energy Agency, and while spent fuel is highly radioactive and emits heat, it's also compact And, Can be managed and regulated as it currently is, globally.
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Next slide please.
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The most recent United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP 28, had some major takeaways that addressed nuclear and.
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The UAE, which is fascinating when you think of how oil rich the area is.
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in the past five years, through investment in renewables and nuclear, the UAE has added more clean energy per capita than any other country.
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In addition, the, in the UAE, the, Decarbonize, a quarter of the UA e's electricity grid.
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And globally nuclear energy is a key role in transitioning to net zero.
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And it's a lot of headwind, but slowly, nuclear is, gaining ground in, in public, perception and.
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One of the key attributes is energy intensity.
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So a thimble sized pellet of uranium produces as much energy as three barrels of oil 350 cubic meters of natural gas, and half a ton of coal.
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So that energy density is key as we move forward.
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This, data comes from, our world in data, which is part of the Global Change Data lab, in the US it's, MIT, and in the UK it's Cambridge.
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So the facts that you're seeing here.
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Next slide please.
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The International Atomic Energy Agency, their statements are that unlike wind and solar, nuclear power and hydropower, it has dispatchable energy.
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They can be adjusted, their output adjusted to meet energy demands.
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unlike wind and solar and the expanded use of nuclear power into non-electrical applications, this is interesting because hydrogen production, green hydrogen production and desalinization.
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Using a nuclear power plant, and we'll talk about some of the, smaller nuclear plants, the salt reactors coming up here.
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we're looking at nuclear power actually powering a desalinization plant.
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if we look globally at the needs for.
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Fresh potable water.
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This is something that if you had looked at it 15, 20 years ago, wouldn't have even been on people's radars.
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But now it becoming critical.
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The International Atomic Energy Agency's latest projections indicate that the world's nuclear capacity will increase 2.5 times the current capacity by 2050.
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at present, 31 countries operate.
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419 reactors producing about 10% of the world Electricity and over 62 reactors are currently under construction.
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The majority of the reactors currently under construction are the pressure water.
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The smaller, salt reactors are something that is pending more than currently under construction.
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Next slide, please.
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So the fast facts on nuclear.
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It's extremely energy dense.
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this is from the US Energy Information Administration and highlights, a lot of important implications for nuclear, including refueling, infrastructure to support an overall carbon footprint for.
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Not only production of plants, but then operation of plants.
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And as we know, coal is very, abundant still, but The uranium reserves, challenge that of coal and much more so than currently economically viable oil.
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So for all of the positive attributes, we have a lot of black eyes for nuclear power, Chernobyl, fima, through my island.
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These are all, if they make it into a Netflix show, you know, it's not good, right?
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So that's in the public mind, but then also.
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The upfront cost.
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Building a nuclear plant in the US especially has been nightmarish.
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It just the most recent ones, the, the Vogul three and four in Georgia were just cost overruns.
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It actually pushed Westinghouse into bankruptcy.
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The budget overruns, long delays and the bureaucracy involved, made it very difficult.
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To gain commercial support for new construction.
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just today, there was another, article on US government support of nuclear power and a profit sharing arrangement.
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The funds, the billions that have been, earmarked.
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Four new plants it would at current production.
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Looking at what vul the second VUL plant in Georgia costs, it'd be about nine reactors that could be built under the current funding and on economy of scale and follow on building of known plans.
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The cost should go down.
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Next slide please.
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we're gonna take a look at one of the key ones, which is nuclear waste.
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Now both of the projects that we mentioned here with, Hannaford site in Washington State and the Savannah River nuclear site I was involved on the project cargo side with both of these nuclear waste treatment.
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I was a risk engineer that.
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Transferred the nuclear rated pressure vessels to both Hanford and Savannah River.
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this was the initial testing of different designs and the final, selected design and full operational nuclear pressure vessels.
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in 2025, Bechtel started the vitrification operations at the waste treatment site at Hanford.
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Now, for those of you who don't know, Hanford was the site of, our nuclear fuel for, Oppenheimer's projects and, basically all of our defense.
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Nuclear reserves came outta Hanford and there's a lot of nuclear waste there.
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So what was finally decided is vitrification.
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And what vitrification is, it's a ported pressure vessel that spins and injects molting glass with nuclear waste.
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immobilizes the radioactive fluids into glass, and this has been successfully utilized now at both Hanford and Savannah River.
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So it's a solid glass form that's suitable for long-term storage, disposal, and transport.
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I think the chosen design was from a UK lab, but they used, seven different modules to see which one would work in small scale before it was brought up to production.
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Next slide, please.
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What are the three levels to catalyze commercial investment?
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And from what I'm looking at from this side is for business opportunities.
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We we're involved in project cargo.
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We move, large, complex pieces of machinery and are also involved in power plants.
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this is, oh.
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Something that we've been involved in and we'll continue to be involved in.
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So it's gotta be acknowledgeable as as reliable, scalable, safe, and affordable.
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And, and the affordability is key because, power generators, businesses are not going to invest in something that has, 300 times cost overrun.
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governments and public, are turning towards nuclear.
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It has to be, standardized and safety and security at the design stage because a lot of the cost overruns are add-ons as with many, bureaucratic projects.
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the initial design has to be safe and vetted, and then it has to be kept in place and not modified.
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regulators need to meet the moment.
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it needs to be done safely, but efficiently.
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And the licensing and review of projects really, needs to get up to speed because the problem with regulators is on the salt reactors and these newer reactor designs, regulators do not have the experience in dealing with the new designs, and they're basing it on old design.
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So that's a major concern.
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next slide please.
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So, global nuclear, currently the UK has nine reactive, but they're aging.
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With eight set to be shut by 2030, I was involved most recently with the Hinckley Point C project, an expansion of the current Hinckley point, in the uk.
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this is a traditional pressurized water reactor.
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The size of the project is massive.
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And as a result it is very expensive and complicated.
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But it's proceeding Currently, France has plans to build at least six, and China has nearly 30 under construction The, US as I mentioned, finished their two in Georgia last year, but they were, seven years late.
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the cost overruns were astronomical.
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Now Japan, which temporarily shuttered it looks to supply a fifth of its electricity by 2040.
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the Hinckley point C in Somerset, UK is currently undergoing construction.
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Bechtel with Westinghouse is building, three AP 1000 reactors in Poland.
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the AP 1000 reactors are the same two reactors that were, installed.
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Georgia and the thing about the AP 1000 with Westinghouse is there are over 25 currently, being installed, built as we deal with the same plant over and over again.
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We develop methodologies to do it quicker, safer, more efficiently.
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if we can.
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Utilize this design and scale it We will see efficiencies in scale come into play on the construction.
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Also in operation.
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Operators then can be trained and it's able, are able to be put into operation running these plants and it's the same technology and that's key.
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You're not having to reinvent the wheel each time because workforce on production, building and operation of the plants is a major concern.
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Next slide, please.
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I mentioned earlier the molten salt reactors, these MSRs, this is different from the pressurized water reactors, when we talk about nuclear power, when we talk about three Mile Island or Chernobyl those are pressurized water reactors.
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Molten salt reactors are a different design, still utilizing nuclear fission.
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but the salt liquefies at a much higher temperature and can store massive amounts of thermal energy.
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molten salt is utilized instead of pressurized water, and they are, modifiable to utilize different types of materials molten salt reactors, can be designed as smaller reactors and are easily scaled to a modular construction profile.
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Also, if as far as the salt is concerned with the salt plug, they are a safer, design in that they don't have the complications from a shram that a pressurized water reactor has.
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Next slide, please.
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So the pressurized water reactor versus the molten salt reactors.
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most plants currently are pressurized water, and its water is a coolant and it's pumped under high pressure to the reactor core in the event of an interruption of cooling water.
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Then you can have what we've always heard as Aidan meltdown.
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Salts, when it's used as a primary coolant, can absorb huge amounts of heat at atmospheric pressure.
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So you don't have the high pressure, you don't have an a, a pressure vessel that's venting so they can operate at very high temperatures.
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And that high temperature then can be utilized for additional industrial processes.
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As I mentioned earlier, desalinization, but then also the hydrogen for green steel production.
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So as we look at these new technologies with the molten salt reactors, not only is it a different technology that is showing to be safer than the pressurized water, it's also generating a different type of heat.
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the high grade heat.
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The applications for industry vary with that as well.
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Opening up greater avenues of manufacturing.
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Next slide please.
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the advantages of a molten salt reactor, the passive safety features are one of the keys here.
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And the less nuclear waste production.
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They extract more energy from the fuel that's used and if the MSR, becomes too hot, the salt plug melts and it stops their reaction.
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In addition, you have more fuel options to utilize within it.
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The decarbonization net zero goals, that's as a function that they can be scaled and built smaller and easily installed in applications.
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The key being, data centers.
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So that's why molten salt reactors and their small footprint and modular construction profile is gaining a lot of steam right now because it's being looked at to be the power center for data centers.
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So data center being built around a molten salt reactor for the energy source.
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Next slide please.
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So the fuel cycle options, as I mentioned, uranium, petroleum, thorium can all be dissolved in the appropriate salt compositions so they can adapt to a variety of nuclear fuels, more sustainable fuel would eliminate or reduce the nuclear waste that we currently have with the light water reactors.
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And thorium is three times more abundant and easier to mine.
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molten salt reactors have an even greater abundance of potential fuel sources with less of a carbon footprint to extract in mine, all very strong, positives.
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Next slide please.
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when we look at molten salt reactors, we look at it from a project cargo potential.
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So the current MSRs in production, there are two main designs.
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One uses traditional solid fuel rods, with salt as a coolant.
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the second is a liquid fuel module, dissolved in molten salt coolant with the liquid fuel design.
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Dissolved into the molten salt, it circulates through the core, and then it's transferred into a secondary loop where it drives a turbine to produce electricity.
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This is the same model that current combined cycle power plants utilize that are powered by natural gas.
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I've been involved in over 30 combined cycle power plants, producing energy throughout the us, and globally.
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So it's a well established design and it has the potential to be easily adapted to modular construction and project cargo globally.
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Next slide please.
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Modular construction.
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when we talk about modular construction, that's building most of the.
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Hit offsite and assembling the major components.
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Then brought to site and put together basically a, a Lego, you're building your components elsewhere and you're putting big blocks in, and then you're putting big blocks together.
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this improves quality control, shortens onsite construction times and reduces overall cost.
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The quality control is key because each of your components can be QA at the same location.
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Production is at the same location.
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Your workers and your manufacturing is at the same location, and then you're moving it to site.
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As I mentioned, it's very similar to, combined cycle gas power plants or large LNG plants that we've worked on globally, the stick-built stuff is, is a thing of the past and most construction.
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And we're now looking at approaching nuclear in the same way.
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EPCs contractors can then look at taking a known proven design and scaling it to the project they're tasked with building.
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as I mentioned, the AI data centers are turning to nuclear in both the traditional large reactors, but then also the molten salt reactors.
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And the small modular reactors.
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when we look at a small modular reactor, most of them at current production or current development are looking at utilizing molten salt technology.
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Next slide please.
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As we mentioned small modular reactors are defined as nuclear reactors generally.
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300 megawatt equivalent or less.
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with modular technology using module factory fabrication and economies of scale, so series production and short construction time.
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So the drivers for these small modular reactors are affordability.
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They much lower capital investment.
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They're allowed to be scaled.
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The ability to switch between electric and heat generation, so the operational flexibility and of course then deployment flexibility.
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So smaller core sizes, the passive safety and active safety features.
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It's then, a smaller impact on the area where it will be installed.
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So we have, The ability to place some closer to urban areas, as I mentioned, inside industrial sites where the AI or the data center would be built around the power source.
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In addition, the same thing can also be used for desalinization plants or green steel production.
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Hydrogen production, once again, modular and the flexibility to apply this energy generation to different applications.
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Next slide, please.
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So we've covered a lot.
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The slide deck will be available what I wanted to do today was show.
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Where we currently stand globally, what's the new technology coming out and how we can adapt that or the potential to see it as a, power source or, or, power generation projects from the insurance side where we're looking to ensure these, or being asked to provide coverage for workers' comp, construction project cargo, or ancillary components to the power plant as well.
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next slide please.
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these are my contact details.
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If you have any questions at all, please reach out happy to take any questions.
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Andrea,
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back to you.
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Great.
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Thank you very much Andrew.
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Thanks for attending and joining our webinar today.
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If you have any additional questions or think of something later, please reach out to Andrew at.
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Andrew kinzie@iscmga.com.
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like he said earlier, be on the lookout for a follow-up email with a recording of today's session and, the slide deck.
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if you have any other future questions, please feel free to reach out.
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Thank you.
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Thank you very much, Andrea.
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today we're gonna be looking at nuclear power the global outlook, where it stands and then the US outlook on existing and proposed projects.
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And we're also touch on the different types of reactors.
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We're seeing some interesting development in the types of reactors.
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And finally the application.
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Of the power generated and the fact that nuclear is green energy.
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Next slide please.
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the US Department of Energy's view, started with the last administration.
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it's a zero emissions clean energy source.
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it's fission.
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the fusion reactors continue to be more sci-fi than, than reality.
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so we're splitting.
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Uranian atoms to produce heat, and then that heat is released, to create steam and spinning turbines after that turbine is similar to a, a combined cycle power plant if it was powered by, natural gas or, an LNG plant.
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the land footprint is quite small.
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A thousand megawatt nuclear facility in the US needs a little more than one square mile.
00:01:07.905 --> 00:01:12.805
The, the NEI that I reference here is the Nuclear Energy Institute.
00:01:13.375 --> 00:01:19.555
And it's fascinating that wind farms and solar, needs so much more land to produce the same amount.
00:01:20.245 --> 00:01:27.105
While we do see footprints that we think are large, it's mostly due to security on the perimeter of the plans themselves.
00:01:28.334 --> 00:01:29.204
Next slide please.
00:01:37.760 --> 00:01:38.239
currently.
00:01:39.575 --> 00:01:47.754
the World Economic Forum, is pushing and showing many reasons why nuclear is important for the, global.
00:01:48.174 --> 00:01:55.284
Power needs and cradle grave lowest carbon footprint and needs fewer materials and less land than other electrical sources.
00:01:55.534 --> 00:02:02.284
uranium in the Earth's crust is more abundant than gold, platinum, and other rare metals at current rates.
00:02:02.284 --> 00:02:09.305
It'll take about a hundred to 150 years to get through the uranium resources we deem economically recoverable today.
00:02:10.504 --> 00:02:12.455
And nuclear power doesn't rely on the weather.
00:02:12.754 --> 00:02:14.664
It's, safe as solar.
00:02:14.694 --> 00:02:20.125
It's safer than coal, gas, oil, and almost any other alternative energy source.
00:02:20.724 --> 00:02:36.780
That particular factoid comes from the International Atomic Energy Agency, and while spent fuel is highly radioactive and emits heat, it's also compact And, Can be managed and regulated as it currently is, globally.
00:02:37.560 --> 00:02:38.430
Next slide please.
00:02:41.969 --> 00:02:49.854
The most recent United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP 28, had some major takeaways that addressed nuclear and.
00:02:52.254 --> 00:02:56.655
The UAE, which is fascinating when you think of how oil rich the area is.
00:02:56.754 --> 00:03:03.794
in the past five years, through investment in renewables and nuclear, the UAE has added more clean energy per capita than any other country.
00:03:05.025 --> 00:03:10.544
In addition, the, in the UAE, the, Decarbonize, a quarter of the UA e's electricity grid.
00:03:10.905 --> 00:03:14.775
And globally nuclear energy is a key role in transitioning to net zero.
00:03:15.405 --> 00:03:25.485
And it's a lot of headwind, but slowly, nuclear is, gaining ground in, in public, perception and.
00:03:25.875 --> 00:03:28.305
One of the key attributes is energy intensity.
00:03:28.335 --> 00:03:36.745
So a thimble sized pellet of uranium produces as much energy as three barrels of oil 350 cubic meters of natural gas, and half a ton of coal.
00:03:36.955 --> 00:03:40.675
So that energy density is key as we move forward.
00:03:43.854 --> 00:03:53.074
This, data comes from, our world in data, which is part of the Global Change Data lab, in the US it's, MIT, and in the UK it's Cambridge.
00:03:53.435 --> 00:03:55.085
So the facts that you're seeing here.
00:03:55.474 --> 00:03:56.405
Next slide please.
00:03:59.375 --> 00:04:07.715
The International Atomic Energy Agency, their statements are that unlike wind and solar, nuclear power and hydropower, it has dispatchable energy.
00:04:08.104 --> 00:04:14.465
They can be adjusted, their output adjusted to meet energy demands.
00:04:15.395 --> 00:04:30.824
unlike wind and solar and the expanded use of nuclear power into non-electrical applications, this is interesting because hydrogen production, green hydrogen production and desalinization.
00:04:31.425 --> 00:04:38.870
Using a nuclear power plant, and we'll talk about some of the, smaller nuclear plants, the salt reactors coming up here.
00:04:38.870 --> 00:04:43.069
we're looking at nuclear power actually powering a desalinization plant.
00:04:44.250 --> 00:04:47.269
if we look globally at the needs for.
00:04:48.560 --> 00:04:49.910
Fresh potable water.
00:04:50.240 --> 00:04:56.509
This is something that if you had looked at it 15, 20 years ago, wouldn't have even been on people's radars.
00:04:56.509 --> 00:04:58.879
But now it becoming critical.
00:04:59.509 --> 00:05:09.230
The International Atomic Energy Agency's latest projections indicate that the world's nuclear capacity will increase 2.5 times the current capacity by 2050.
00:05:09.939 --> 00:05:11.764
at present, 31 countries operate.
00:05:12.595 --> 00:05:22.105
419 reactors producing about 10% of the world Electricity and over 62 reactors are currently under construction.
00:05:23.545 --> 00:05:27.834
The majority of the reactors currently under construction are the pressure water.
00:05:28.165 --> 00:05:35.045
The smaller, salt reactors are something that is pending more than currently under construction.
00:05:36.394 --> 00:05:37.204
Next slide, please.
00:05:39.064 --> 00:05:41.254
So the fast facts on nuclear.
00:05:42.154 --> 00:05:43.774
It's extremely energy dense.
00:05:43.824 --> 00:06:02.930
this is from the US Energy Information Administration and highlights, a lot of important implications for nuclear, including refueling, infrastructure to support an overall carbon footprint for.
00:06:04.160 --> 00:06:07.189
Not only production of plants, but then operation of plants.
00:06:10.430 --> 00:06:23.420
And as we know, coal is very, abundant still, but The uranium reserves, challenge that of coal and much more so than currently economically viable oil.
00:06:24.529 --> 00:06:35.939
So for all of the positive attributes, we have a lot of black eyes for nuclear power, Chernobyl, fima, through my island.
00:06:36.779 --> 00:06:41.420
These are all, if they make it into a Netflix show, you know, it's not good, right?
00:06:41.420 --> 00:06:45.129
So that's in the public mind, but then also.
00:06:45.894 --> 00:06:46.915
The upfront cost.
00:06:47.004 --> 00:06:52.194
Building a nuclear plant in the US especially has been nightmarish.
00:06:52.355 --> 00:06:59.084
It just the most recent ones, the, the Vogul three and four in Georgia were just cost overruns.
00:06:59.084 --> 00:07:01.665
It actually pushed Westinghouse into bankruptcy.
00:07:02.394 --> 00:07:08.045
The budget overruns, long delays and the bureaucracy involved, made it very difficult.
00:07:08.464 --> 00:07:11.134
To gain commercial support for new construction.
00:07:11.415 --> 00:07:20.404
just today, there was another, article on US government support of nuclear power and a profit sharing arrangement.
00:07:20.504 --> 00:07:23.204
The funds, the billions that have been, earmarked.
00:07:24.569 --> 00:07:28.709
Four new plants it would at current production.
00:07:28.889 --> 00:07:43.589
Looking at what vul the second VUL plant in Georgia costs, it'd be about nine reactors that could be built under the current funding and on economy of scale and follow on building of known plans.
00:07:43.680 --> 00:07:44.850
The cost should go down.
00:07:46.110 --> 00:07:46.980
Next slide please.
00:07:47.949 --> 00:07:50.829
we're gonna take a look at one of the key ones, which is nuclear waste.
00:07:51.910 --> 00:08:05.290
Now both of the projects that we mentioned here with, Hannaford site in Washington State and the Savannah River nuclear site I was involved on the project cargo side with both of these nuclear waste treatment.
00:08:05.920 --> 00:08:07.660
I was a risk engineer that.
00:08:08.454 --> 00:08:13.345
Transferred the nuclear rated pressure vessels to both Hanford and Savannah River.
00:08:14.274 --> 00:08:22.944
this was the initial testing of different designs and the final, selected design and full operational nuclear pressure vessels.
00:08:23.660 --> 00:08:29.899
in 2025, Bechtel started the vitrification operations at the waste treatment site at Hanford.
00:08:30.439 --> 00:08:41.139
Now, for those of you who don't know, Hanford was the site of, our nuclear fuel for, Oppenheimer's projects and, basically all of our defense.
00:08:41.320 --> 00:08:47.080
Nuclear reserves came outta Hanford and there's a lot of nuclear waste there.
00:08:47.440 --> 00:08:51.190
So what was finally decided is vitrification.
00:08:51.580 --> 00:08:59.779
And what vitrification is, it's a ported pressure vessel that spins and injects molting glass with nuclear waste.
00:09:00.139 --> 00:09:10.019
immobilizes the radioactive fluids into glass, and this has been successfully utilized now at both Hanford and Savannah River.
00:09:10.440 --> 00:09:16.740
So it's a solid glass form that's suitable for long-term storage, disposal, and transport.
00:09:17.889 --> 00:09:29.840
I think the chosen design was from a UK lab, but they used, seven different modules to see which one would work in small scale before it was brought up to production.
00:09:31.820 --> 00:09:32.659
Next slide, please.
00:09:36.200 --> 00:09:39.350
What are the three levels to catalyze commercial investment?
00:09:39.350 --> 00:09:44.059
And from what I'm looking at from this side is for business opportunities.
00:09:44.059 --> 00:09:45.919
We we're involved in project cargo.
00:09:45.919 --> 00:09:52.230
We move, large, complex pieces of machinery and are also involved in power plants.
00:09:52.450 --> 00:09:55.029
this is, oh.
00:09:55.524 --> 00:09:58.764
Something that we've been involved in and we'll continue to be involved in.
00:09:59.154 --> 00:10:04.164
So it's gotta be acknowledgeable as as reliable, scalable, safe, and affordable.
00:10:04.730 --> 00:10:14.634
And, and the affordability is key because, power generators, businesses are not going to invest in something that has, 300 times cost overrun.
00:10:15.105 --> 00:10:17.695
governments and public, are turning towards nuclear.
00:10:17.784 --> 00:10:29.914
It has to be, standardized and safety and security at the design stage because a lot of the cost overruns are add-ons as with many, bureaucratic projects.
00:10:29.945 --> 00:10:36.054
the initial design has to be safe and vetted, and then it has to be kept in place and not modified.
00:10:37.115 --> 00:10:38.865
regulators need to meet the moment.
00:10:39.044 --> 00:10:41.955
it needs to be done safely, but efficiently.
00:10:42.014 --> 00:11:00.225
And the licensing and review of projects really, needs to get up to speed because the problem with regulators is on the salt reactors and these newer reactor designs, regulators do not have the experience in dealing with the new designs, and they're basing it on old design.
00:11:00.585 --> 00:11:02.389
So that's a major concern.
00:11:03.840 --> 00:11:04.720
next slide please.
00:11:07.350 --> 00:11:13.120
So, global nuclear, currently the UK has nine reactive, but they're aging.
00:11:13.924 --> 00:11:24.294
With eight set to be shut by 2030, I was involved most recently with the Hinckley Point C project, an expansion of the current Hinckley point, in the uk.
00:11:25.804 --> 00:11:28.865
this is a traditional pressurized water reactor.
00:11:29.105 --> 00:11:31.565
The size of the project is massive.
00:11:31.715 --> 00:11:36.695
And as a result it is very expensive and complicated.
00:11:37.100 --> 00:11:53.309
But it's proceeding Currently, France has plans to build at least six, and China has nearly 30 under construction The, US as I mentioned, finished their two in Georgia last year, but they were, seven years late.
00:11:53.409 --> 00:11:57.009
the cost overruns were astronomical.
00:11:59.095 --> 00:12:04.115
Now Japan, which temporarily shuttered it looks to supply a fifth of its electricity by 2040.
00:12:04.695 --> 00:12:09.044
the Hinckley point C in Somerset, UK is currently undergoing construction.
00:12:09.115 --> 00:12:15.965
Bechtel with Westinghouse is building, three AP 1000 reactors in Poland.
00:12:17.054 --> 00:12:21.414
the AP 1000 reactors are the same two reactors that were, installed.
00:12:22.120 --> 00:12:37.879
Georgia and the thing about the AP 1000 with Westinghouse is there are over 25 currently, being installed, built as we deal with the same plant over and over again.
00:12:38.240 --> 00:12:42.830
We develop methodologies to do it quicker, safer, more efficiently.
00:12:43.110 --> 00:12:44.414
if we can.
00:12:45.179 --> 00:12:52.320
Utilize this design and scale it We will see efficiencies in scale come into play on the construction.
00:12:53.100 --> 00:12:54.570
Also in operation.
00:12:55.200 --> 00:13:06.120
Operators then can be trained and it's able, are able to be put into operation running these plants and it's the same technology and that's key.
00:13:06.539 --> 00:13:15.850
You're not having to reinvent the wheel each time because workforce on production, building and operation of the plants is a major concern.
00:13:17.049 --> 00:13:17.860
Next slide, please.
00:13:20.769 --> 00:13:35.669
I mentioned earlier the molten salt reactors, these MSRs, this is different from the pressurized water reactors, when we talk about nuclear power, when we talk about three Mile Island or Chernobyl those are pressurized water reactors.
00:13:35.669 --> 00:13:42.654
Molten salt reactors are a different design, still utilizing nuclear fission.
00:13:45.465 --> 00:13:52.514
but the salt liquefies at a much higher temperature and can store massive amounts of thermal energy.
00:13:52.565 --> 00:14:12.835
molten salt is utilized instead of pressurized water, and they are, modifiable to utilize different types of materials molten salt reactors, can be designed as smaller reactors and are easily scaled to a modular construction profile.
00:14:13.585 --> 00:14:25.495
Also, if as far as the salt is concerned with the salt plug, they are a safer, design in that they don't have the complications from a shram that a pressurized water reactor has.
00:14:27.355 --> 00:14:28.164
Next slide, please.
00:14:31.914 --> 00:14:37.745
So the pressurized water reactor versus the molten salt reactors.
00:14:37.774 --> 00:14:50.105
most plants currently are pressurized water, and its water is a coolant and it's pumped under high pressure to the reactor core in the event of an interruption of cooling water.
00:14:50.195 --> 00:14:54.184
Then you can have what we've always heard as Aidan meltdown.
00:14:54.514 --> 00:15:00.705
Salts, when it's used as a primary coolant, can absorb huge amounts of heat at atmospheric pressure.
00:15:00.705 --> 00:15:08.955
So you don't have the high pressure, you don't have an a, a pressure vessel that's venting so they can operate at very high temperatures.
00:15:09.404 --> 00:15:15.495
And that high temperature then can be utilized for additional industrial processes.
00:15:15.764 --> 00:15:21.955
As I mentioned earlier, desalinization, but then also the hydrogen for green steel production.
00:15:22.404 --> 00:15:35.914
So as we look at these new technologies with the molten salt reactors, not only is it a different technology that is showing to be safer than the pressurized water, it's also generating a different type of heat.
00:15:36.014 --> 00:15:37.274
the high grade heat.
00:15:38.070 --> 00:15:42.360
The applications for industry vary with that as well.
00:15:42.600 --> 00:15:46.019
Opening up greater avenues of manufacturing.
00:15:47.250 --> 00:15:48.029
Next slide please.
00:15:50.519 --> 00:15:58.110
the advantages of a molten salt reactor, the passive safety features are one of the keys here.
00:15:58.379 --> 00:16:02.669
And the less nuclear waste production.
00:16:03.644 --> 00:16:12.565
They extract more energy from the fuel that's used and if the MSR, becomes too hot, the salt plug melts and it stops their reaction.
00:16:13.315 --> 00:16:19.254
In addition, you have more fuel options to utilize within it.
00:16:20.875 --> 00:16:29.904
The decarbonization net zero goals, that's as a function that they can be scaled and built smaller and easily installed in applications.
00:16:30.759 --> 00:16:32.529
The key being, data centers.
00:16:33.070 --> 00:16:47.169
So that's why molten salt reactors and their small footprint and modular construction profile is gaining a lot of steam right now because it's being looked at to be the power center for data centers.
00:16:47.169 --> 00:16:52.450
So data center being built around a molten salt reactor for the energy source.
00:16:54.009 --> 00:16:54.909
Next slide please.
00:16:56.980 --> 00:17:14.430
So the fuel cycle options, as I mentioned, uranium, petroleum, thorium can all be dissolved in the appropriate salt compositions so they can adapt to a variety of nuclear fuels, more sustainable fuel would eliminate or reduce the nuclear waste that we currently have with the light water reactors.
00:17:15.825 --> 00:17:19.904
And thorium is three times more abundant and easier to mine.
00:17:20.035 --> 00:17:32.994
molten salt reactors have an even greater abundance of potential fuel sources with less of a carbon footprint to extract in mine, all very strong, positives.
00:17:33.670 --> 00:17:34.450
Next slide please.
00:17:36.190 --> 00:17:39.960
when we look at molten salt reactors, we look at it from a project cargo potential.
00:17:40.650 --> 00:17:44.670
So the current MSRs in production, there are two main designs.
00:17:45.210 --> 00:17:49.400
One uses traditional solid fuel rods, with salt as a coolant.
00:17:49.500 --> 00:17:55.454
the second is a liquid fuel module, dissolved in molten salt coolant with the liquid fuel design.
00:17:56.619 --> 00:18:05.319
Dissolved into the molten salt, it circulates through the core, and then it's transferred into a secondary loop where it drives a turbine to produce electricity.
00:18:05.650 --> 00:18:14.200
This is the same model that current combined cycle power plants utilize that are powered by natural gas.
00:18:15.130 --> 00:18:20.789
I've been involved in over 30 combined cycle power plants, producing energy throughout the us, and globally.
00:18:21.434 --> 00:18:32.565
So it's a well established design and it has the potential to be easily adapted to modular construction and project cargo globally.
00:18:33.255 --> 00:18:34.244
Next slide please.
00:18:38.204 --> 00:18:39.315
Modular construction.
00:18:39.365 --> 00:18:45.214
when we talk about modular construction, that's building most of the.
00:18:46.654 --> 00:18:49.865
Hit offsite and assembling the major components.
00:18:50.615 --> 00:19:00.039
Then brought to site and put together basically a, a Lego, you're building your components elsewhere and you're putting big blocks in, and then you're putting big blocks together.
00:19:01.335 --> 00:19:05.894
this improves quality control, shortens onsite construction times and reduces overall cost.
00:19:06.285 --> 00:19:11.775
The quality control is key because each of your components can be QA at the same location.
00:19:12.194 --> 00:19:13.934
Production is at the same location.
00:19:14.055 --> 00:19:18.555
Your workers and your manufacturing is at the same location, and then you're moving it to site.
00:19:19.545 --> 00:19:30.414
As I mentioned, it's very similar to, combined cycle gas power plants or large LNG plants that we've worked on globally, the stick-built stuff is, is a thing of the past and most construction.
00:19:30.714 --> 00:19:35.035
And we're now looking at approaching nuclear in the same way.
00:19:35.904 --> 00:19:45.664
EPCs contractors can then look at taking a known proven design and scaling it to the project they're tasked with building.
00:19:46.244 --> 00:19:55.595
as I mentioned, the AI data centers are turning to nuclear in both the traditional large reactors, but then also the molten salt reactors.
00:19:56.255 --> 00:19:58.805
And the small modular reactors.
00:19:59.115 --> 00:20:07.335
when we look at a small modular reactor, most of them at current production or current development are looking at utilizing molten salt technology.
00:20:08.265 --> 00:20:09.315
Next slide please.
00:20:12.944 --> 00:20:19.775
As we mentioned small modular reactors are defined as nuclear reactors generally.
00:20:19.875 --> 00:20:23.265
300 megawatt equivalent or less.
00:20:23.575 --> 00:20:33.085
with modular technology using module factory fabrication and economies of scale, so series production and short construction time.
00:20:33.355 --> 00:20:36.924
So the drivers for these small modular reactors are affordability.
00:20:38.634 --> 00:20:40.630
They much lower capital investment.
00:20:42.230 --> 00:20:44.000
They're allowed to be scaled.
00:20:45.414 --> 00:20:52.255
The ability to switch between electric and heat generation, so the operational flexibility and of course then deployment flexibility.
00:20:52.944 --> 00:20:59.325
So smaller core sizes, the passive safety and active safety features.
00:21:00.075 --> 00:21:06.275
It's then, a smaller impact on the area where it will be installed.
00:21:06.454 --> 00:21:16.674
So we have, The ability to place some closer to urban areas, as I mentioned, inside industrial sites where the AI or the data center would be built around the power source.
00:21:17.484 --> 00:21:25.684
In addition, the same thing can also be used for desalinization plants or green steel production.
00:21:26.255 --> 00:21:37.234
Hydrogen production, once again, modular and the flexibility to apply this energy generation to different applications.
00:21:39.125 --> 00:21:39.994
Next slide, please.
00:21:43.384 --> 00:21:44.825
So we've covered a lot.
00:21:44.855 --> 00:21:49.085
The slide deck will be available what I wanted to do today was show.
00:21:49.460 --> 00:22:16.309
Where we currently stand globally, what's the new technology coming out and how we can adapt that or the potential to see it as a, power source or, or, power generation projects from the insurance side where we're looking to ensure these, or being asked to provide coverage for workers' comp, construction project cargo, or ancillary components to the power plant as well.
00:22:17.190 --> 00:22:18.029
next slide please.
00:22:19.539 --> 00:22:20.950
these are my contact details.
00:22:20.950 --> 00:22:24.700
If you have any questions at all, please reach out happy to take any questions.
00:22:42.565 --> 00:22:42.835
Andrea,
00:22:43.224 --> 00:22:43.765
back to you.
00:22:44.244 --> 00:22:44.785
Great.
00:22:44.785 --> 00:22:46.404
Thank you very much Andrew.
00:22:47.035 --> 00:22:49.615
Thanks for attending and joining our webinar today.
00:22:49.615 --> 00:22:53.365
If you have any additional questions or think of something later, please reach out to Andrew at.
00:22:54.430 --> 00:22:57.525
Andrew kinzie@iscmga.com.
00:22:58.015 --> 00:23:06.184
like he said earlier, be on the lookout for a follow-up email with a recording of today's session and, the slide deck.
00:23:06.234 --> 00:23:10.894
if you have any other future questions, please feel free to reach out.
00:23:11.105 --> 00:23:11.535
Thank you.
