Innovation

While TerraPower is a metaphorical powerhouse behind advancements in the nuclear energy field, the main innovation behind their advancements in clean energy is the Natrium Reactor and Integrated Energy Storage. In collaboration with GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, the two companies were able to develop the Natrium technology. In its first established nuclear power plant, TerraPower is working to demonstrate the future of energy using a Natrium reactor built at a waning coal plant in Wyoming. Their unique combination of a sodium fast reactor and a molten salt energy storage system could increase the system's output by 500MWe of power. This system aims to provide a clean, stable, and flexible energy solution that can be seamlessly integrated into existing power grids.

Additional company innovations include molten chloride fast reactor technology, which aims to act as an energy solution to provide carbon-free power and heat. An innovation that is a step away from strictly energy is the Isotope program, which focuses on the research of separating Isotopes and processing them. The Isotope program would be used in cancer treatment, as it can destroy targeted cells without causing much damage to surrounding non-affected cells.

Inspiration

In 2006, Bill Gates and a group of like-minded visionaries saw the need for clean energy within the private energy sector to help raise global living standards and stop the progression of climate change. After identifying that nuclear power was the future for clean energy, they launched TerraPower. The goal was to adjust to the world's ever-growing energy needs, both sustainably and ethically, which would, in turn, reduce energy poverty. The company does not just want to compete in the clean energy business; they want to make nuclear energy an integrated part of society. While initially inspired by nuclear as a force for clean energy, the company has also expanded to research other ways that the advancement of nuclear science can positively impact the medical field.

Overall impact

The Natrium Reactor can replace retiring coal plants, thus giving new life to facilities that would otherwise sit vacant. Additionally, these plants can also revive small coal-based towns across the world. After the success of this first reactor is proven, TerraPower can identify and establish other areas to set up more nuclear plants across the United States and soon the rest of the world. With a population of 331 million, the United States needs to find more reliable sources of clean energy. This was seen in the latest shutdown of the Texas power grid because of the weather in 2021. Additionally, nuclear power can be turned on and off at will instead of relying on any external inputs, making it a more reliable clean energy source than wind or solar.

Business benefit

Recently, TerraPower was awarded a Department of Energy cooperative agreement, which allows TerraPower to work directly with the government to establish the Natrium Reactor on the grounds of a retiring coal plant. While many green energy companies have chosen to focus on solar and wind as solutions to fossil-based energy, TerraPower’s focus on nuclear energy has made them unique and thus carved out a specific market worldwide. TerraPower has decided to remain a private company, enabling research and innovation in the next generation with innovation’s inherent risks. Their new partnership with the Department of Energy will unlock a world of possibilities for the company and lead to vast growth in the coming years.

Social and environmental benefit

One of the key benefits of the TerraPower Natrium Reactors is that they take up a much smaller surface area than the other renewable energy sources. The smaller surface area allows the reactors to produce electricity more efficiently because a similar amount of energy produced via wind or solar would result in a much larger surface footprint. For example, according to data released by Bank of America, a nuclear plant would take up the space of Central Park. In contrast, a similar-sized solar plant would take up the size of Brooklyn to produce the same, if not less, energy as the nuclear plant.

Many people's main worry about nuclear power is the effects of radiation on surrounding communities. However, according to the same Bank of America data, it has been proven that living near a nuclear plant would only give off the equivalent radiation that 50 bananas give off purely from naturally radioactive potassium. Compare this to living within 50 miles of a coal plant, which gives off an amount of radiation 33 times higher than a nuclear plant. Similarly, TerraPower reactors are designed in a modern and advanced way. This means they are much safer, so they cannot melt down like the reactors of Chernobyl or Fukushima, which have resulted in those surrounding nuclear plant areas being evacuated.

Given that the world is becoming more affluent and more people are entering the middle class, there is a growing need for electricity. As this demographic expands, they want more everyday luxury electrical goods like toasters, rice cookers, and televisions. The nuclear power generated through the Natrium technology will help power these growing electrical needs at an affordable rate while being clean and sustainable. One of the critical aspects that Marcia mentioned was the decarbonization of all aspects of life, from industry to transportation, home, and general electricity, referring to it as "the decarbonization of the whole pie" to improve clean energy.

Interview

Marcia Burkey, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer