Toshiba Builds 100x Smaller Micro Nuclear Reactor

Toshiba’s Home Nuclear Reactor

 If we lived in a world where everyone was (a) smart and (b) trustworthy, Toshiba’s micro-sized nuclear reactor, small enough to fit in the basement or a large shed, would be a slam-dunk solution to the energy/climate crisis.

Twenty foot long by six foot wide, the reactors produce 200kW of energy and run themselves: the entire thing is manufactured with the fuel within, and when it runs out, they can just send a truck to pick it up.

"Unlike traditional nuclear reactors the new micro reactor uses no control rods to initiate the reaction. The new revolutionary technology uses reservoirs of liquid lithium-6, an isotope that is effective at absorbing neutrons. The Lithium-6 reservoirs are connected to a vertical tube that fits into the reactor core. The whole whole process is self sustaining and can last for up to 40 years, producing electricity for only 5 cents per kilowatt hour, about half the cost of grid energy."

Waste, you say? Throw it in a mile-deep pit in New Mexico, or something.
Unfortunately, with the way nukes have been run, it’s unlikely they’ll be replacing every neighborhood’s electricity substation with one of these any time soon. It’s claimed there are buyers in Japan and Europe. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, I recall, makes something similar, but bigger.
Toshiba Builds 100x Smaller Micro Nuclear Reactor [Nextenergynews via Gizmodo]