Bill Gates, through his company TerraPower, is driving Natrium, a fourth-generation reactor that promises to change the rules of the game. The big innovation is that it replaces water with liquid sodium as a coolant. This allows it to operate at much lower pressures than traditional reactors, resulting in an inherently safer and less complex design.
How liquid sodium cooling works ⚛️
Liquid sodium has a very high boiling point, almost 883 degrees Celsius, compared to water's 100 degrees. This allows the reactor to operate at atmospheric pressure, eliminating the risk of explosions from high-pressure steam. Additionally, Natrium includes a molten salt energy storage system, allowing it to adjust its electrical output to demand, something uncommon in conventional nuclear energy.
Sodium: the dangerous cousin of water in the nuclear kitchen 🔥
Of course, using sodium has its quirks. If liquid sodium comes into contact with water or air, it ignites like a giant match. So engineers have had to design systems to keep it isolated and in an argon atmosphere. In other words, the reactor is safe, but if someone trips over the wrong pipe, the scare would be epic. Good thing Bill Gates has money to put out fires.