Euphemistically referred to as a “fission battery,” the HPM will deliver 70 megawatts of thermal energy, or approximately 25 megawatts of electricity. This amount of energy is enough to supply electricity to 20,000+ average American-style homes or the industrial/commercial equivalent.
“In response to market demand for the HPM, we have decided on a uranium nitride-fueled, lead bismuth-cooled, fast reactor for our ‘launch’ design,” said John R. Grizz Deal, Hyperion Power’s CEO. “For those who like to categorize nuclear technologies, we suppose this advanced reactor could be called a Gen IV++ design.”
The design that Hyperion Power intends to have licensed and manufactured first will include all of the company’s original design criteria, but is expected to take less time for regulators to review and certify than the initial concept created by Dr. Otis Peterson during his tenure at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
“We have every intention of producing Dr. Peterson’s uranium hydride-fueled reactor; it is an important breakthrough technology for the nuclear power industry,” noted Deal. “However, in our research of the global market for small, modular nuclear power reactors – aka SMRs – we have found a great need for the technology. Our clients do not want to wait for regulatory systems around the globe, to learn about and be able to approve a uranium hydride system. A true SMR design, that delivers a safe, simple and small source of clean, emission-free, robust and reliable power is needed today – not years from now. As we construct and deploy this launch design, we will continue to work towards licensing Dr. Peterson’s design.”
