Bill Gates’ TerraPower receives license to develop new nuclear reactors

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) gave TerraPower the go-ahead this week to build a new nuclear power plant in the shadow of an aging coal plant in Wyoming.

TerraPower’s permit is the first to be granted by the NRC in nearly a decade. Startup – founded by Bill Gates in 2015 and sponsored by Nvidia – has been developing its Natrium machine with GE Vernova Hitachi. The final power plant will produce 345 megawatts, which is about two-thirds smaller than current reactors, but several times larger than the smaller designs favored by other startups.

Natrium differs from other reactors not only in scale, but also in the details of its structure. Where most nuclear reactors built over the past 50 years were stabilized with water, Natrium is stabilized with dissolved sodium, which TerraPower says should be safe. This is the first time that a commercial generator that is not cooled by conventional water has been approved by the NRC in more than 40 years.

The reactor will operate with large amounts of dissolved sodium, which will be stored in large, unsealed tanks. This allows the atoms to continue splitting when the demand is low, and the hot sodium saves energy, which can be used to fill any air in the wind and the sun. Since nuclear power plants operate most efficiently near full power, storing excess energy as heat should reduce production costs.

The NRC’s approval is notable because TerraPower followed a long-established permitting process, granting them a permit to build on the property. Department of Energy He recently loosened his security rulesbut the rules apply to the premises that the organization owns.

TerraPower is one of about half a dozen launching nuclear weapons with the help of technology companies or their founders. As the demand for electricity from data centers grows, the Trump administration will be under pressure to increase production capacity, including building new nuclear reactors.

Investors have noticed these two developments, and in recent months, have launched nuclear weapons with more than $1 billion in capital. TerraPower alone has raised $1.7 billion in funding, including a $650 million round that closed in June, according to PitchBook.

Although nuclear power is on the rise, it is still very competitive. Until now, nuclear has been one of the most expensive forms of renewable energy. Some of this is due to the high cost of large-scale power plants, but also reflects the progress that solar, wind, and batteries have made in reducing costs over the years.

Nuclear developers are hoping to ramp up production to capitalize on the big investment, but the theory has yet to be proven. And while manufacturing can help reduce costs, it’s often necessary ten years to make the money possible.