Sep 21, 2024
Roughly 20% of America's power generation lies in nuclear technology.
Roughly 20% of America's power generation lies in nuclear technology. The U.S. government wants to increase that number significantly. But to do so, we need more fuel capable of powering a new type of nuclear power plant that offers easier setup and smaller reactors. Some of that fuel may come from nuclear weapons.
According to recent news reports, a highly classified government facility in Oak Ridge, TN is now turning old nuclear warheads into fuel for nuclear reactors. We are guessing they aren't the only facility doing this. In fact, there are a number of private companies producing the same kind of fuel.
What is it all about? It is about fueling the next generation of nuclear reactors while simultaneously boosting nuclear power generation capacity across the country. These new reactors rely on a different type of uranium known as high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU).
Making It From Nuclear Weapons
HALEU is an enriched form of uranium containing 5-20% of the facile isotope uranium-235. Fuel for old style nuclear reactors contains 3- 5%, making HALEU more enriched. On the other hand, weapons grade enriched uranium comes in at 20%. So HALEU is less enriched. That is where old weapons come into play.
Deactivated nuclear warheads can be down-blended to reduce uranium-235 content. While the process is complicated in practice, it is quite simple in theory. A warhead is disassembled, and the uranium placed in a crucible along with low-enriched uranium. The crucible is then heated to about 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit, turning the uranium into a molten material.
That molten material is then placed in a cooling chamber. It hardens as it cools, becoming something that looks eerily similar to charcoal, and is safe enough to handle with bare hands. HALEU can be easily transported to power plants where it becomes fuel for electrical generation.
We Have to Make Our Own
The decision to start turning old weapons into HALEU came about as a result of the Ukraine war. Prior to the start of the war, the U.S. sourced most of our HALEU from Russia. That is no longer possible. So power plants depending on the fuel to continue generating electricity are scrambling to find new suppliers.
We cannot purchase Russian HALEU right now, but we do have stockpiles of nuclear warheads sitting around collecting dust. It makes perfect sense to transform them into a usable fuel that could further help this country reduce its dependence on oil.
Nuclear Is Clean and Safe
The idea of converting old nuclear weapons into fuel for power generation may upset some people who are dead set against nuclear power. But truth be told, nuclear power is both clean and safe. Nuclear power generation doesn't create any emissions that have to be dealt with later. It doesn't deplete the environment or require petrochemical processing.
In terms of safety, it is one of the safest ways humanity has ever developed for generating large volumes of electricity. Accidents do happen, just as they do in any other industry. But the damage from those accidents has been comparatively manageable. Not only that, but technologies that ensure safety have also improved dramatically over the years.
A new type of nuclear power reactor is being deployed across the U.S. It promises to be a prominent player in power generation for decades to come. But to utilize it, we need HALEU. And since we can no longer get HALEU from Russia, we need to make it ourselves. What better way to do so than converting stockpiled nuclear weapons into material that will never again be used against other nations?
Back to All Insights