Generating electricity from nuclear waste

New York Times : Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates is among the investors in TerraPower, a startup company planning to build a nuclear reactor that runs on nuclear waste. If the Belleville, Washington–based company succeeds, such reactors could generate enough electricity to power the US for centuries. What’s more, the reactors would obviate a nuclear proliferation risk. Unlike the case for a conventional reactor, running one does not entail producing two nuclear weapons ingredients, enriched uranium and plutonium. As Matthew Wald of the New York Times reports, several obstacles lie in the path toward Gates’s dream. One is financial. Building a prototype reactor would likely cost $5 billion. Another obstacle is technical. TerraPower’s design requires fuel to remain in the reactor for 30 years, during which time neutrons emitted by the fuel could severely damage the reactor vessel. To close the funding gap, TerraPower is courting China.