By Chuck Ring (GadaboutBlogalot ©2009 – 2010)

Quote Freely From The Article – Leave The Pseudonym Alone

According to Yahoo!®News and AFP Bill Gates and Toshiba are in discussions for the development of small nuclear reactor.  The story indicates that Gates and Toshiba will focus on developing such a reactor that will be able to operate for 100 years without replenishment of fuel:

The Nikkei business daily earlier reported that the two sides would team up to develop a compact next-generation reactor that can operate for up to 100 years without refueling to provide emission-free energy.

The daily said the joint development would focus on the Traveling-Wave Reactor (TWR), which consumes depleted uranium as fuel. Current light-water reactors require refueling every few years.

Gates’ company is TerraPower and they have been working to develop their own nuclear power package plant.  With the potential partnership between the two entities, perhaps technology will be exchanged which will roll out a completed product much sooner than would be expected without the cooperative effort.

Toshiba is not only Toshiba, but it is also Westinghouse:

Toshiba, which owns US nuclear plant maker Westinghouse, has developed a design for an ultracompact reactor that can operate continuously for 30 years.

The company is preparing to apply for US approval to start constructing the first such reactor as early as 2014 and put it into practical use by the end of the decade, Ohmori said.

Read the entire article here. But, don’t count your atoms before they’re split.

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