http://syn2.thecanadianpress.com:8080/mrss/feed/fcf7391a2f354311807f0501c16bde6a MSN - AP World Copyright © 2010-2018 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved. http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification Sun, 14 Dec 2025 10:15:36 +0000 http://syn2.thecanadianpress.com:8080/mrss/feed/fcf7391a2f354311807f0501c16bde6a/48f2d699d2cc4d5da453068c42a08e00 48f2d699d2cc4d5da453068c42a08e00 Thu, 09 Feb 2023 11:51:52 +0000 SHOT LISTRESTRICTION SUMMARY: PART MANDATORY ON-SCREEN CREDIT LAST ENERGYASSOCIATED PRESSBrookshire, Texas – 17 January 20231. Exterior of Last Energy's nuclear microreactor, "The big cube"2. Bret Kugelmass, founder of Last Energy, walks in front of microreactor 3. Kugelmass inside "The big cube"4. Pan left to the steam generator++PARTIALLY COVERED BY SHOTS 2,3,4,6,7++5. SOUNDBITE (English) Bret Kugelmass, founder of Last Energy:"The microreactor that we developed is the same fundamental technology, the same physics, the same chemistry, the same materials that you see powering 300 power plants around the world contributing to almost 10% of global electricity production. What we've done is we've repackaged it in order to be able to build most of it in a factory, be able to put it inside of modules, transport it to site, and make the construction process radically simplified."6. Microreactor from top7. Various microreactor fuel lines 8. Various of microreactor showing boltsANNOTATION: Last Energy says the 20-megawatt microreactors could replace carbon dioxide-emitting fossil fuels that power factories or data centers.  ANNOTATION: Traditional nuclear power costs billions of dollars. The total cost of Last Energy's microreactor is under $100 million, the company says.ASSOCIATED PRESSWashington D.C. – 24 January 20239. Various of Nuclear Energy Institute entry10. Various of Marc Nichol, senior director for new reactors at the Nuclear Energy Institute, working at his office11. Tilt down Nichol's computer showing information on nuclear microreactors++PARTIALLY COVERED BY SHOTS 9,10,11++12. SOUNDBITE (English) Marc Nichol, senior director for new reactors at the Nuclear Energy Institute:"Microreactors are an exciting advanced reactor technology. They've been around for a couple of years. Most of the companies that are developing microreactors started around 2016 to 2018. But even though they're relatively new, they're also moving quickly to the market. And so we expect to see the first micro reactors operating by 2024 and 2026."LAST ENERGY – MANDATORY ON-SCREEN CREDITBrookshire, Texas – 22 September 202213. Various of assembly of Last Energy's nuclear microreactor ++MUSIC FROM SOURCE++ANNOTATION: A slew of universities are interested in the technology not just to power their buildings but to see how far it can go in replacing fossil fuels.ASSOCIATED PRESSWashington D.C. – 24 January 2023++PARTIALLY COVERED BY SHOT 13,15++14. SOUNDBITE (English) Marc Nichol, senior director for new reactors at the Nuclear Energy Institute:"We see a couple of universities already moving forward to investigate the use of micro reactors. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Purdue University and Penn State University are all working with companies to explore the use of nuclear power, specifically micro reactors. And so it's an exciting opportunity to see nuclear power help to reduce carbon emissions for these universities."ASSOCIATED PRESSBrookshire, Texas – 17 January 202315. Pan right of reactor LAST ENERGY – MANDATORY ON-SCREEN CREDITBrookshire, Texas – 22 September 202216. Time-lapse showing assembly of Last Energy's nuclear microreactor ++MUTE++ANNOTATION: Not everyone is convinced. The Union of Concerned Scientists says that microreactors could generate more uranium waste than conventional ones.ASSOCIATED PRESS++VIDEO CALL++Washington D.C. – 2 February 2022++PARTIALLY COVERED BY SHOTS 18,19,20++17. SOUNDBITE (English) Edwin Lyman, director of nuclear power safety at the Union of Concerned Scientists:"I think that the enthusiasm for micro reactor technology is completely unjustified. These reactors are going to be much less efficient than large light-water reactors and pose a number of safety and security risks and will also generate much more expensive electricity. So I think those who are hoping that micro reactors are going to be the silver bullet for solving the climate change crisis are simply betting on the wrong horse."ASSOCIATED PRESSBrookshire, Texas – 17 January 202318. Top shot of fuel lines 19. Tilt up of microreactorLAST ENERGY – MANDATORY ON-SCREEN CREDITBrookshire, Texas – 23 January 202320. Aerial of Last Energy's nuclear microreactorSTORYLINEIf your image of nuclear power is giant, cylindrical concrete cooling towers pouring out steam on a site that takes up hundreds of acres of land, soon there will be an alternative.Tiny nuclear reactors that produce only one-hundredth the electricity and can even be delivered on a truck are about to hit the market.  Small but meaningful amounts of electricity — nearly enough to run a small campus, a hospital or a military complex, for example — will pulse from a new generation of micronuclear reactors. The tiny reactors carry some of the same challenges as large-scale nuclear, such as how to dispose of radioactive waste and how to make sure they are secure. Supporters say those issues can be managed and the benefits outweigh any risks.One company that is building microreactors that the public can get a look at today is Last Energy, based in Washington, D.C. It built a model reactor in Brookshire, Texas that's housed in an edgy cube covered in reflective metal. Now it's taking that apart to test how to transport the unit. A caravan of trucks is taking it to Austin, where company founder Bret Kugelmass is scheduled to speak at the South by Southwest conference and festival. Kugelmass, a technology entrepreneur and mechanical engineer, is working with licensing authorities in the United Kingdom, Poland and Romania to try to get his first reactor running in Europe in 2025.    The urgency of the climate crisis means zero-carbon nuclear energy must be scaled up soon, he said. Traditional nuclear power costs billions of dollars. The total cost of Last Energy's microreactor, including module fabrication, assembly and site prep work, is under $100 million, the company says.Some universities are interested in the technology not just to power their buildings but to see how far it can go in replacing the coal and gas-fired energy that causes climate change. Marc Nichol, senior director for new reactors at the Nuclear Energy Institute, views the interest by schools as the start of a trend.  The Department of Defense is working on a microreactor too. Project Pele is a DOD prototype mobile nuclear reactor under design at the Idaho National Laboratory. But not everyone shares the enthusiasm. Edwin Lyman, director of nuclear power safety at the Union of Concerned Scientists, called it "completely unjustified."  Microreactors in general will require much more uranium to be mined and enriched per unit of electricity generated than conventional reactors do, he said. He said he also expects fuel costs to be substantially higher and that more depleted uranium waste could be generated compared to conventional reactors.The United States does not have a national storage facility for storing spent nuclear fuel and it's piling up. Microreactors would only compound the problem and spread the waste around, Lyman said. AP Video: Lekan Oyekanmi and Angie WangProduced by: Teresa de Miguel---Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. The AP is solely responsible for all content.===========================================================Clients are reminded: (i) to check the terms of their licence agreements for use of content outside news programming and that further advice and assistance can be obtained from the AP Archive on: Tel +44 (0) 20 7482 7482 Email: info@aparchive.com(ii) they should check with the applicable collecting society in their Territory regarding the clearance of any sound recording or performance included within the AP Television News service (iii) they have editorial responsibility for the use of all and any content included within the AP Television News service and for libel, privacy, compliance and third party rights applicable to their Territory. Nuclear micro reactors to hit the market