accelerating clean energy solutions
Nusano’s core technology can be used to help dispose of nuclear waste while generating clean energy
nuclear waste disposal solution
One of the biggest objections to nuclear power is the danger and multi-generational storage needs of spent fuel rods removed from reactors.
Ideas proposed to-date amount to little more than burying or storing waste for hundreds, if not thousands of years. This may get spent fuel out of sight but does not eliminate ongoing public health concerns about radiation or reduce the potential for highly weaponizable material to fall into the hands of bad actors.
Fortunately, a better option exists.
Nusano has developed a proprietary ion source capable of generating neutrons on a scale far greater than current particle accelerator technologies. When applied to the problem of nuclear waste, this technology can dramatically shorten the radioactive half-life of spent nuclear fuel and other byproducts – all while simultaneously generating clean energy for the system’s operation and the electrical grid.
Nusano technology:
Dramatically reduces half-life of nuclear waste
Generates megawatts of green energy for electric grid
Achieves breakthrough cost-effectiveness for real-world implementation
understanding reactor types
A 'Critical' difference
Nuclear Reactor
A conventional nuclear reactor is based on a controlled fission chain reaction (critical reaction) of fissile isotopes, such as plutonium‐239 and uranium‐235. Going ‘critical’ is when the reactions in the reactor reach a self‐sustained chain reaction. The chain reactors are kept under control using moderators which slow down the nuclear chain reaction. A failure in these control systems can potentially cause a serious nuclear accident. Conventional reactors also produce radioactive waste that lasts for approximately 300,000 years before decaying to “background levels” safe for humans.
ADSCR
Accelerator Driven Sub‐Critical Reactors (ADSCR) have long been proposed as a safer alternative to conventional fission reactors because the nuclear material does not support a chain reaction. The nuclear fuel in a sub‐critical reactor, such as thorium, is not able to undergo nuclear fission by itself. Instead, a sub‐critical reactor requires a source of neutrons to generate a chain reaction. When the neutron source is removed, the chain reaction stops, as does the reactor. Thus, it is not possible for such a system to get out of control.
Sub‐critical reactors can be used to burn spent nuclear fuel from conventional or breeder reactors, as well as from other sources of nuclear waste. When the waste material in a sub-critical reactor is bombarded by neutrons it transforms from long‐lived nuclear waste into short‐lived waste. The burnup also creates heat which can be used to generate green (carbon-free) electricity for the power grid and the system’s ongoing operation. Importantly, this process also dramatically reduces the storage time of the most dangerous radioactive waste products.
Untreated, bulk waste from traditional nuclear reactors is radiotoxic for more than 300,000 years. After burnup in a sub-critical reactor system, long-lived isotopes (such as technetium-99) would need only 20-30 years of storage in a high security facility. After that time, the remaining materials could then be moved to less intensive storage solution until their radioactivity is below background levels (200-300 years).
The idea of sub-critical reactors has been around for over 30 years. Typical ADSCR systems are designed around 1 GeV proton accelerators with beam currents of at least 100 mA. Historically, such accelerator systems are complex, large, unreliable, and difficult to maintain without significant downtime. Further compounding these problems, ADSCRs are enormously expensive, costing $1 billion or more for the accelerator apparatus alone. As a result, ADSCR technology has yet to make the transition from experimental to economically viable.
Nusano’s core ion source technology changes these economics, providing a cost-effective neutron source that makes ADSCR systems viable and affordable. The Nusano system provides a neutron flux equivalent to existing ADSCRs, but at a fraction of the price. The whole system can be constructed for $20-30 million in a small, modular fashion. This allows the Nusano technology to be cost-effectively installed at nuclear power plants and waste disposal sites around the country – eliminating the public health concern of shipping highly radioactive waste through communities.
Together with community, industry and government leaders, Nusano is working to enable the nuclear energy renaissance with a waste management solution responsive to the needs of people and the planet.
how it works
nusano sub-critical reactor
Neutron Generation
Nusano’s patented ion source generates neutrons in large volumes necessary to drive a sub-critical reactor system.
Target Bombardment
Neutrons collide with the targeted nuclear waste, creating a sub-critical reaction. This process generates heat and transforms the long-lived waste into short-lived material.
Power Generation
Heat produced by the reaction is used to generate electricity.
Clean Energy
The resulting electricity is “green,” carbon-free power produced from the nuclear waste material. This electricity can be directed into the electric grid and used to power the sub-critical reactor system’s ongoing operation.
NUSANO HOLDS FULL RIGHTS TO ITS UNIQUE TECHNOLOGY
Detailed technical information and validation data is available to qualified investors and research partners. If interested in learning more about the Nusano production platform, please contact us.