Denmark-based, Copenhagen Atomics is racing to develop a molten salt reactor (MSR) - one of several next generation (Gen IV) nuclear reactor designs under development today. Similar to light-water reactors (LWR), MSRs use nuclear fission to generate heat. However, instead of using water for coolant, MSRs use liquid fluoride or chloride salt mixtures (aka salt). For its reactor development, the startup is pursuing a “hardware-driven iterative component-by-component approach” (instead of a full design license & approval). Currently, the company is developing & testing related valves, pumps, heat exchangers, measurement systems, salt chemistry & purification systems, as well as control systems & software. It’s worth noting that some of the firm’s tech is already commercially available including...

Renaissance Fusion aims to build a stellarator fusion reactor - which is different to more commonly used tokamak designs - by developing two innovative technologies. The 1st technology concerns the use of liquid metal, which sticks to the inner walls of the reaction chamber & insulates them from extreme heat & radioactivity (with lower maintenance costs). Currently, the startup can create liquid lithium-based walls 1cm thick, but significant development remains before they can be used in nuclear fusion, which requires a thickness of 30-40cm. The 2nd technology relates to high-temperature superconducting coils, which generate strong(er) magnetic fields (& potentially allow a smaller reactor to achieve the same performance as a larger one). To do so,...