Canned Fission: A Micro-scale Nuclear Future for Australia

By taking a micro-to-scale approach to nuclear energy, starting with highly mobile containerised micro nuclear reactors (canned fission), Australia has the potential to fully vertically integrate across the nuclear industry from source to deployment and become a world leader in the supply of sustainable energy.

Small-scale Power Potential

Twenty years ago, as a young engineer, one of BE&R’s Directors was in the UK designing nuclear submarines, he was enamored by how compact the submarine reactors were and their potential for use in other small-scale power applications. Unfortunately, at the time the cost of nuclear versus conventional fuels, the lack of drive for emission reductions, and public perception were showstoppers for further development outside the military sphere.

Fast forward to now; declining fossil fuel energy production, emission reduction targets, ever-increasing energy demand, and technological innovation are creating the perfect storm for the revival of micro (~1MW to 20MW) to small (~20MW to 300MW) modular reactor energy solutions with commercial potential. Companies such as Westinghouse, Rolls-Royce, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and many others are now promoting exciting new micro-reactors and small modular reactor (SMR) technology that will be available to the market by the early 2030s.

In Australia, nuclear power is banned, except for the Lucas Heights facility, which is primarily used for medical purposes. There is also strong public and political opposition at all levels to developing grid-scale nuclear power in Australia, with recent proposals by the federal opposition for seven small modular reactors (SMRs) being ridiculed. Opponents of nuclear power often cite high development costs versus renewables, safety concerns and decades of approvals and development to deliver something the public does not want. Despite the strong opinions against nuclear energy, Australia is the 4th largest producer of uranium globally, holding around one-third of the world’s reserves.

The Federal Government plans to base a fleet of nuclear submarines at its naval base in Western Australia in the early 2030s (including hosting US and UK nuclear submarines as early as 2027). These submarines are powered by “micro-reactors”. A bold yet complementary step would be to supplement power at the naval base with one or more onshore micro-reactors (~10MW each). These micro-reactors only require refuelling every 3 to 5 years (some designs claim up to 10 years). This would complement the planned renewable energy supply by providing baseload power for the naval base and reducing dependence on the dwindling domestic gas supply for power.

Unlike larger SMRs, micro-reactors can be designed to be transported in a containerised format (canned fission), allowing easy deployment in remote locations. Some designs also operate at low pressures, reducing the emergency planning safety zones around operating reactors. The manufacturers claim the emergency safety zones can be contained within the reactor housing (ship hull or reinforced building) instead of a radius of 1km or more.

The cost of building, operating and fueling micro-reactors should reduce significantly from the early units due to their small size and focus on factory fabrication as opposed to large-scale nuclear reactors, which have, in many cases, gone up in cost.

Rosatom has demonstrated an example of the potential of micro-reactors. In 2019, they started the Akademik Lomonosov floating nuclear power plant using two KLT-40S reactors, typically used in ice breakers, generating 35 MWe each. By the end of 2024, the plant had generated 1 billion kWh, successfully mitigating the challenges of diesel fuel logistics and traditional power generation operation in the very remote and harsh Chukotka Autonomous Area of the Russian Far East Arctic.

Micro Nuclear Reactor Application

Taking a micro-reactor approach with canned fission would be highly suited to remote locations and industrial areas that may not be able to be fully supported by renewables or require fast deployment. Some examples:

• New fast-track green commercial port developments, with limited access to renewable or conventional power generation, that have surrounding supporting industries with high power demands would benefit from canned fission. Generally, ports are already set up to handle hazardous goods.
• Canned fission shore-to-ship power could be provided to berthed ships (cold ironing) to eliminate the largest segment of CO2 emissions in ports. The containerised micro-reactor could be located onshore or on a barge away from other port users.  
• Remote mining operations would benefit from canned fission, significantly reducing the challenges associated with fuel logistics (diesel and LNG), fuel availability and firming of renewable power. Mines nearby could benefit from sharing combined power resources through local grids.
• Industrial areas typically have periodical electrical loads and require heat for processes. A canned fission solution could complement renewable and battery power and provide a heat source. When renewables and batteries are expanded to fully cater for the load, the power plant could be moved to another location.
• Regional towns supplied with canned fission could operate off-grid, eliminating the need to build and maintain major transmission infrastructure to low-population centres.
• Remote islands with insufficient natural resources for power generation would benefit from canned fission, onshore or floating, eliminating the significant cost of importing fuel. Other benefits will include cheaper desalination for freshwater supplies.
• Highly mobile canned fission modules could be deployed as part of emergency response units to get power to essential systems for fire, flood and storm recovery events.

Conclusion

Australia has the potential to fully vertically integrate across the nuclear industry from source to deployment and become a world leader. With no changes to the existing prohibitive legislation Australia will continue to be nothing more than a quarry for the rest of the world’s energy developments.

Enabling a small-scale approach to the introduction of nuclear energy, such as using canned fission micro-reactors, which are suited to a wide range of applications and benefit from the significant advances in nuclear technology, will quickly demonstrate the huge opportunity for Australia and pave the way to a new era of abundant sustainable energy.  

BE&R’s approach to small-scale nuclear

BE&R’s extensive experience in energy infrastructure projects is poised to support Australia’s emerging small-scale nuclear industry. Our expertise encompasses concept development, project execution, and consulting services across the energy sector. We are ready to tackle the unique challenges facing the build-out of a new energy industry, including regulatory barriers, cost management, and developing the specialized skills, vendor partnerships and infrastructure requirements to realise the nacent nuclear industry.

• Technology Partnerships: BE&R are actively fostering close relationships with the leading vendors and technology providers in the small nuclear and micro-reactor sector
• New skillsets: BE&R are bolstering the nuclear skillgap by developing the critical knowledge neccessary to support Australia’s nuclear capability
• Project Management and Execution: Leveraging BE&R’s project execution skills to oversee the development of nuclear facilities, ensuring adherence to timelines and budgets.
• Regulatory Compliance and Safety: Applying BE&R’s knowledge of energy regulations to navigate the complex nuclear regulatory environment, ensuring projects meet all safety and compliance standards.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Utilizing BE&R’s experience in managing stakeholder relationships to facilitate community acceptance and address public concerns regarding nuclear energy projects.