Plutonium, potential use

UK ‘can harness radioactive waste for energy’ after tech breakthrough. ‘Game-changing’ process could see Sellafield plutonium power reactors for decades. A technology breakthrough will allow Britain to transform its stockpile of plutonium into nuclear fuel instead of burying it underground, ministers have been told. Moltex, a start-up developing a reactor that can consume radioactive waste, has proven for the first time that it can recycle spent fuel from a power station – potentially providing a new method for disposal. The company says the process can be adapted to accommodate the large amounts of nuclear waste currently stored at Sellafield, Cumbria, including a stockpile of around 140 tonnes of plutonium. Following the breakthrough, Moltex is preparing to hold talks with the Government about building a potential waste-to-fuel reactor in Cumbria. It comes after ministers confirmed plans to bury the plutonium stockpile underground permanently, triggering an outcry from industry insiders who said they were throwing away “a gold mine” that could power nuclear reactors for decades to come. The Government insists permanent disposal is the only realistic option that addresses concerns about the security risks posed by the plutonium – which can be used to make nuclear weapons. But Rory O’Sullivan, Moltex’s chief executive, said his company’s “game-changing” advancement offered an alternative to disposal. The UK’s plutonium stockpile could potentially power four of his firm’s molten salt reactors for up to 60 years, he said, providing around 2 gigawatts of firm power – enough to supply more than 3m homes. Mr O’Sullivan told The Telegraph: “The process can almost certainly take plutonium in, technically there is no real barrier to doing that. “This wasn’t on the UK Government’s radar, previously. So we very much look forward to discussions with policymakers and technical leaders about how this changes the economic viability going forward.”