#molten-salt-reactor

#molten-salt-reactor

The headline catalyst is a Front-End Engineering Design contract awarded to Plug Power to supply a 275 MW GenEco PEM electrolyzer system for Hy2gen Canada's 'Courant' project in Baie-Comeau, Quebec. This project will utilize low-carbon electricity from Hydro-Quebec to produce green hydrogen, which will then be converted into low-carbon ammonia and decarbonized ammonium nitrate for use in the mining and agriculture industries.

"The unfortunate part is that in order to be able to support an entire industrial base, you've got to have that whole supply chain node-matched in terms of capacity," Zach Detweiler, co-founder and CEO of Radify Metals, explained. He emphasized the importance of addressing the overlooked node that converts metal oxides into pure metals, which he refers to as the 'missing middle.'

For over 15 years, the EFRC program has provided a transformational research environment that has brought together the strengths of our National Laboratories and universities to accelerate discovery, develop innovative tools, and train the next generation of the American energy science workforce. The EFRCs will continue to play a vital role in bridging disciplines and institutions, advancing foundational science and strengthening America's leadership to push forward scientific frontiers critical for new energy technologies.

Fusion power promises to supply the world with large amounts of clean heat and electricity, if researchers and engineers can solve some vexing challenges. At its core, fusion power seeks to harness the power of the Sun. To do that, fusion startups must figure out how to heat and compress plasma for long enough that atoms inside the mix fuse, releasing energy in the process.

The moon is going nuclear. On Tuesday NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy announced a commitment to build a fission reactor on the lunar surface. NASA has been exploring nuclear power for the moon for years, but the endeavor got a boost late last year in an order from President Donald Trump to build one to ensure American space superiority. The reactor will be capable of operating for years without the need to refuel, according to NASA.

The pioneering technology means one of the oldest forms of energy storage, hydropower, can be used to store and release renewable energy using even gentle slopes rather than the steep dam walls and mountains that are usually required. The design means the principles of hydropower could be used as a form of long duration energy storage in many more locations across the UK, and the world, than traditional hydropower dams. The projects could be quicker and cheaper to build too.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) will create a "pipeline" of projects meeting readiness criteria, offering a "concierge-style" service to help the developers navigate UK planning, regulations, and secure private investment. DESNZ says emerging nuclear technologies like small modular reactors (SMRs) can be prefabricated in factories, enabling faster, cheaper assembly using skilled jobs across multiple regions. These reactors can provide clean energy to the grid or directly to industrial users, it claims.

The team, from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Beijing Institute of Technology, recently published their findings in Nature Communications. According to their research, the process not only avoids conventional leaching chemicals and extreme heat to extract lithium from old batteries, but it also uses carbon dioxide in what the authors call a sequestration step, and turns other battery transition metals into new catalysts - with CO₂-rich water doing most of the chemical work.