Isn't fusion safer? If fusion was a viable option for countries that are phasing out fission like Germany then it could solve a lot of problems especially decreasing reliance on gas
We don't have fusion that is even remotely practical so making a safety case for it is very difficult.
In general, fission is very safe and next generation fission plants in development are incredibly safe. To a point where you have to really be Micheal Bay to come up with a scenario where radiation is escaping the exclusion zone.
Germany does not have a safety problem, they have a culture problem. This is driven by a 70s anti-nuclear war agenda that basically makes civil nuclear plant = nuclear weapon argument. I have lived in Berlin and the amount of anti-nuclear nonsense you see there is amazing. Anti-nuclear foot mats are common.
Fusion is not a practical viable option in the next 2 decades likely more.
You can right now go to South Korea and order 10 1GWh nuclear plants for the next decade and probably much more. Germany could have started built nuclear 2 decades ago and they would be as or more carbon free then they are now.
Next generation fission plants are going threw regulatory process in a number of places and I am not informed on China. Canada is your best bet for a internationally recognized regulator to license an GenIV plant. The US is cooperating with Canada and hopefully will issue dual-licenses.
Most of these companies have a hard time getting money, the process could speed up if other countries really invested in this tech.
The furthest along are Terrestrial Energy with a Molten Salt fast reactor. They have been in 'Phase 2' for a few almost 4 years now and should finish that relatively soon. This is the furthest along any non-research GenIV design has ever come as far as I know.
Hopefully by the end of this decade we will see some actually operating.
Technology wise this could have been done long ago, but the Canadian regulator is really the first to be so forward thinking. In the US non of this would have really been possible.
Thousands of tons of radioactive molten lithium would be quite noticeable if spilled, especially since it would instantly burst into flame, and spraying water on that would make it explode.
On the plus side, it wouldn't be very radioactive, not like a nuke meltdown. Mostly molten and on fire.
"Acute inhalation toxicopathology of lithium combustion aerosols in rats", A.H.Rebar, B.J.Greenspan, M.D.Allen
"Male and female F344/Lov rats were exposed to aerosols produced by burning lithium metal under conditions designed to simulate a fire in the containment building of a fusion reactor. ... 14-day LC50 values ... were 940 mg/m^3 ... necrotizing laryngitis and ulcerative rhinitis"
In general, fission is very safe and next generation fission plants in development are incredibly safe. To a point where you have to really be Micheal Bay to come up with a scenario where radiation is escaping the exclusion zone.
Germany does not have a safety problem, they have a culture problem. This is driven by a 70s anti-nuclear war agenda that basically makes civil nuclear plant = nuclear weapon argument. I have lived in Berlin and the amount of anti-nuclear nonsense you see there is amazing. Anti-nuclear foot mats are common.
Fusion is not a practical viable option in the next 2 decades likely more.
You can right now go to South Korea and order 10 1GWh nuclear plants for the next decade and probably much more. Germany could have started built nuclear 2 decades ago and they would be as or more carbon free then they are now.
Next generation fission plants are going threw regulatory process in a number of places and I am not informed on China. Canada is your best bet for a internationally recognized regulator to license an GenIV plant. The US is cooperating with Canada and hopefully will issue dual-licenses.
Most of these companies have a hard time getting money, the process could speed up if other countries really invested in this tech.
See the current state here:
https://nuclearsafety.gc.ca/eng/reactors/power-plants/pre-li...
The furthest along are Terrestrial Energy with a Molten Salt fast reactor. They have been in 'Phase 2' for a few almost 4 years now and should finish that relatively soon. This is the furthest along any non-research GenIV design has ever come as far as I know.
Hopefully by the end of this decade we will see some actually operating.
Technology wise this could have been done long ago, but the Canadian regulator is really the first to be so forward thinking. In the US non of this would have really been possible.