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2 Support of Nuclear Energy
Support of the Development of MSRs
The advantages of the use of Molten Salt Reactors (MSRs) for the safe production of electricity was reviewed in the Comings Foundation.org web site -> 1. Support of Nuclear Energy -> Molten Salt Reactors. In summary the advantages of MSRs are as follows:

• zero carbon footprint,
• base load electricity,
• able to burn up waste from Light Water nuclear Reactors,

• cheaper than coal,
• inexhaustible energy supply,
• a fraction of the waste of LWRs,
• capable of producing both electricity and fuel,
• relatively inexpensive,
• no environmental impact.
• modular (thus avoiding the gigantic gigawatt reactors).
• does not require long power lines as with wind and solar.

• very safe.

• resistant to earthquakes (i.e. Fukashima).
• resistant to meltdowns (i.e Chernobyl, Three Mile Island).
• resistant to terrorism.

• affordable to developing nations.

••••••We do not have to start from scratch. There are several companies that are far along in developing MSR technology.
The one that is furthest along is:

Terrestrial Energy  www.Terrestrialenergy.com
••••••Terrestrial Energy, is a Canadian Company, founded in early 2013. Its business objective is to develop its patent-pending Integral Molten Salt Reactor (“IMSR”) and be ready for commercial deployment by early next decade. The IMSR offers a completely new paradigm for civilian nuclear energy.
 
••••••The Integral Molten Salt Reactor (IMSR) is a commercially viable MSR that is designed to meet today’s market need – cost competitive, scalable and grid independent for civilian heat and power, heat and power at source of demand.  The IMSR is a completely new narrative for civilian nuclear energy:  safe, low levels of manageable waste and exemplary proliferation resistance.
••••••A unique feature of their approach is that the reactor core is replaced every 7 years. See material on their web site for details. This by passes many of the potential stumbling blocks toward approval by the nuclear regulatory commission making the Terrestrial Energy reactor the closest to being ready for deployment now.

Terrestrial Energy USA is an affiliate of Terrestrial Energy Inc., and is developing the Integral Molten Salt Reactor (IMSR®) for U.S. market deployment. The IMSR® is an Advanced Reactor and represents true innovation in cost and functionality. It will provide clean, convenient and cost-competitive heat for many industrial applications, including electric power provision and heat for industrial processes, such as chemical synthesis and desalination. The IMSR® extends the applicability of nuclear energy far beyond its current footprint in on-grid electric power markets. It promises to increase industrial competitiveness and energy security while concurrently driving deep and rapid decarbonization by displacing fossil fuel combustion across a broad industrial front. Using an innovative design based on proven technology, the IMSR® can be brought to market in the 2020s.
••••••The Comings Foundation will support these companies either by buying stock or outright donation. Even though we are a non-profit, it is legal for a proportion of our funding to come from investments in commercial companies. Thus, if these companies prove to be commercially viable, the funds received could support other Comings Foundations projects.

For details see www.TheComingsFoundation.org
-> 1. Support of Nuclear Energy


Because of some scary nuclear reactor accidents, such a Chernobyl, Three-mile Island and Fukushima-Daiichi, many people are justifiably afraid of nuclear power. This was such a problem for some governments that all the nuclear power plants in Germany were shut down and the building of new reactors in the U.S., has come to a stand still.

Ironically, if Dr. Arvin Weinberg, the Director of the Oak Ridge Laboratory in the 1950s and 1960's, had been allowed to continue the development of Molten Salt Reactors and had this technology, rather than the Cold Water Reactors (CWR) become the choice of nuclear power companies,
none of these accidents would have occurred. This is because a Molten Salt Reactor is super safe and cannot suffer a melt down because it is in a constant melt down state, which is an inherent part of its operation. If an earthquake or tsunami occurs, if all the operators die, if all the electricity stops, and other ifs, a freeze plug melts and the molten salt drains to underground holding tanks and the reactor stops. In addition, nuclear waste is a fraction of that of CWRs. The following pages outline this story and this technology.

It could also be argued that if MSRs rather than CWRs were used for the production of electrical power, their inherent safety, lower cost and modularity would have resulted in the rapid replacement of coal powered electricity and the rapid accumulation of global warming CO2 would not be happening.

The following figure shows just how important it is to replace coal generated electricity with a carbon negative source such as nuclear.

Source of CO2 800