Apollo Atomics wants to make nuclear power cheaper by shrinking an overlooked part
The nuclear power industry is undergoing something of a renaissance, with startups raking in funding to develop advanced reactors in a quest to lower costs. But based on recent projections, it’s unlikely those reactors will be cost-competitive anytime soon.
Assil Halimi and Drew Walker, the founders of Apollo Atomics, think that’s because companies have been chasing the wrong problem. So instead of designing a new reactor, Apollo is rethinking the way thermal energy is converted into electricity.
“We focus on the largest component, the steam generator,” Halimi, the startup’s CEO, told TechCrunch. “We have been able to shrink that component and make the whole system way more compact than any other reactor in the market.”
A necessary but unsexy part of a power plant, these generators produce steam from the reactor’s coolant loop to drive a turbine. While most steam generators are hand-built and several stories tall, Apollo...
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