Are High Temp Gas Reactors the Future or a Relic? скачать в хорошем качестве

Are High Temp Gas Reactors the Future or a Relic?

This week, we talk High Temperature Gas Reactors, or HTGRs, with a Decouple favorite: reactor designer and nuclear historian Nick Touran. From the first conceptual sketch of an HTGR in wartime labs to today’s revival by players like X-energy and China’s fast-moving reactor fleet, we dissect what makes HTGRs unique—both in engineering promise and the difficulties that have long haunted their success. With helium cooling, TRISO fuel, and ambitions beyond electricity into process heat and industrial decarbonization, HTGRs may be poised for a comeback. But will history repeat itself, or finally break the cycle? Enjoy longer shownotes, transcripts, and more on Substack: https://www.decouple.media Episode title on podcast platforms: Hard Lessons with Hot Helium Follow Nick Touran ‪@whatisnuclear‬ : • What Is Nuclear: https://whatisnuclear.com/about.html • X: https://x.com/whatisnuclear Listen to Decouple on: • Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6PNr3ml... • Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... • Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1516526694/... • Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/ehbfrn44 • RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/23775178/podcast/rss Website: https://www.decouple.media Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 02:31 HTGR Basics 06:21 Low-temperature Gas Reactors 07:53 Farrington Daniels' brainchild 13:54 Why HTGRs are interesting 24:57 HTGRs in history 35:44 Technical challenges 43:33 The importance of just building 45:26 German HTGRs 51:28 Chinese HTGRs 55:24 Reactor lifespans 58:03 Process heat 1:07:09 Fuel challenges 1:10:08 The future of HTGRs: China v. the West