Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Bill Gates and China Aren't Building a Traveling Wave Nuclear Plant (yet)

From MIT's Technology Review:
Rumors of a partnership between TerraPower and China aren't true.
The word is that TerraPower, a company backed by Bill Gates that's developing a new kind of nuclear power plant, is going to develop the reactor in cooperation with the Chinese government. But that word is wrong.

News of the partnership has been spreading around the web, but the company says that it is just having discussions with China. It's also talking to other countries, as well as with two research centers in India.
"We are sharing information on the [traveling wave reactor] with a variety of research, supply and manufacturing organizations, but there are no deals to speak to at this time," John Gilleland, TerraPower's C.E.O. said in a statement today.

According to The Guardian Bill Gates says "TerraPower is having very good discussions" with the China National Nuclear Corporation, but that those discussions are at an early stage....MORE
See also Technology Review's July 2011 post "Advanced Reactor Gets Closer to Reality".

TerraPower's website.

Previous TerraPower posts:
Who says big ideas are rare? (Using Nuclear Waste)
Inventing the Future
"How Moore’s Law Has Spoiled Us for The Energy Revolution"