Welcome to your Friday Rundown for the week ending Dec. 14. Feedback is always welcome at info@clearpathaction.org.
HOUSE SPURS ADVANCED NUCLEAR REACTOR FUELS
House lawmakers approved a bipartisan bill (H.R. 6140) from Reps. Bill Flores (R-Texas) and Jerry McNerney (D-Calif.) to direct the Department of Energy to establish a program supporting availability of high-assay low-enriched uranium (HA-LEU) via public-private partnerships to address regulatory and market challenges.
This bill addresses the critical lapse in domestic supply of the HA-LEU that will be needed to fuel most advanced reactors being designed. Filling this supply here would allow the U.S. and Russia to take a major step toward catching up with China and Russia , who have been trying to corner the advanced reactor technology and fuel market.
ClearPath Action advisor and former Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Commissioner Jeffrey Merrifield co-authored a white paper sponsored by ClearPath and the U.S. Nuclear Industry Council that urged lawmakers, policymakers and the NRC to take prompt steps to ensure adequate supply of HA-LEU or risk continued progress in deploying the next generation of U.S. nuclear power. Merrifield and URENCO USA President Melissa Mann testified in support of H.R. 6140 on behalf of ClearPath and USNIC at a hearing this past May.
RICH’S TAKE
“This bill addresses the critical lapse in domestic supply of the HA-LEU that will be needed to fuel many advanced reactors being designed,” ClearPath Action Executive Director Rich Powell said. “Filling this supply here would allow the U.S. to take a major step toward catching up with China and Russia, who have been trying to corner the advanced reactor technology and fuel markets.”
CARBON CAPTURE POLICIES, PROJECTS GREW IN 2018
2018 marked a growth in supportive policies and projects for carbon capture technologies, according to a new report released this week by the Global CCS Institute.
This year included an expansion and extension of the section 45Q tax incentive in the U.S., promotion and grant funding in China and organizational bodies in the U.K. and Japan.
There are currently 43 large-scale facilities – 18 in commercial operation, five under construction and 20 in various stages of development. There are also new initiatives in CO2 recycling and direct air capture projects in the U.S., Canada and Iceland.
Supporters of the technology also have continued to diversify, the report notes.
This comes on the heels of a new study released by the International CCS Knowledge Centre underscoring that the capital cost of Canadian utility Saskpower installing carbon capture capabilities at the Shand Power Station would be 67 percent less per ton than their first build, the Boundary Dam coal-fired plant.
WHY WE NEED TO GO BEYOND LITHIUM ION
Most current energy storage technologies come in the form of batteries – and there is no more ubiquitous battery in the world than lithium ion.
But while lithium batteries certainly has their uses, it’s unlikely they can fulfill the promise of clean energy sources – from renewables to nuclear.
One reason is a serious concern over its supply chain. Lithium ion battery tech relies on a rare element named cobalt, increasingly referred to as the blood diamond of batteries due to lax child labor and safety laws in copper and nickel mining dominated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
In the meantime, China is attempting to capture the global lithium ion battery opportunity in the same way it’s begun to dominate solar manufacturing.
In their latest whiteboard video, ClearPath Executive Director Rich Powell and Production Director Mitch Kersey detail what’s needed in an ambitious effort to ensure U.S. and global investment in the future of every clean energy source is secure.
