All language subtitles for Tomorrows.World.Today.S04E08.The.Clean.Factor.720p.WEBRip.x264-KOMPOST_track3_[eng]

[narrator] Join us on
Tomorrow's World Today

as we journey through
the worlds of inspiration,

creation, innovation
and production

to find the ideas
and technologies

that are shaping our future.

In this four-part exploration,

we visit the world of innovation

to discover how nuclear energy

can help us achieve
the 2050 goal

of a zero carbon footprint.

From Inventionland
World headquarters,

here's your host,
George Davison.

Hey, Greg.

I'd like to learn more
about nuclear technology.

You know, from its history

to how it may play a role in
creating a zero carbon footprint.

Well, George you know
there are a lot of myths

and misconceptions out there
around nuclear energy.

There are, and I'd like you
to investigate that, too.

Also, they've invented
small modular reactors

and micro reactors

that'll be providing
energy to remote places

which is just fascinating to me.

And they can provide power
when there are major outages.

And I just read about a project

to help build nuclear
powerplants on the moon.

Now, that's Tomorrow's World.

That's why I'd like you to go
and investigate nuclear energy.

You're gonna go out and talk with
top scientists, engineers and officials.

Are you ready to take a deep
dive into nuclear energy?

Well, I've already done
some background research

and I'm ready to hear
from the experts themselves.

[George] That's great.

Your first stop is
in Washington DC.

I'm on my way there, George.

[Greg] Here I am in Washington
DC outside the US Capitol

where we're going to
learn how nuclear energy

is going to help us
to achieve our goal

of a zero carbon
footprint by 2050.

Now, reducing carbon emissions will
obviously make for better air quality.

But it will also help to
slow down climate change,

which is responsible
for rising sea levels,

droughts, even wildfires.

Now, we are going to meet
with Spencer Nelson.

He's the senior research
director a ClearPath.

We're gonna learn from him exactly
how much energy the world needs

and how the production
of that energy

is fueling the current
climate change.

[Greg] Hey, you must be Spencer.

- Oh, hey! Great to meet you.
- Great to meet you too!

- Thanks for taking the time with us today.
- No problem.

So, we're gonna give in
with a really big question

that probably has
a really big answer.

Exactly how much energy does
the world need and use today?

Well Greg,
it's a significant amount.

Right now we use approximately
15 billion tons of oil equivalent.

Spread out across electricity,
heating, transportation,

everything and it's the amount of energy
that we need to have a modern society.

Wow! I... Now, speaking
of that, I guess if you look

at the beginnings
of the industrial revolution

through the last
150 years or so,

most researchers would
agree that human activity

has really contributed to the
increase in greenhouse gases.

That's clearly something we're not
going to be able to change overnight.

What can we do
to help things out?

Well, there's a lot
of things that we can add.

Additional clean energy sources,

we can look
at energy efficiency.

We can also even capture carbon emissions
that are coming out of powerplants.

And actually reuse that to
help us out. That's awesome.

Now, one of the things
we've been hearing about

that's sort of a problem now

but it's certainly gonna
be a problem in the future

is what's called
"Climate migration."

And I've heard statistics
that have shown

that potentially a 143 million
people could be displaced

worldwide due to climate change.

Yeah, it's absolutely an issue
that's gonna have to be managed.

I think that number is kind
of a worst case scenario

if we don't reduce
our emissions.

But, there's a lot that we can
do to choose cleaner sources,

to capture emissions
from powerplants

and choose energy efficiency
that could avoid that outcome.

So, Spencer...

given some of the statistics
that you gave me earlier,

would seem as though there's
plenty of energy in the world

but there are still lots
of people who go without.

Absolutely.

There's still 10% of world that
doesn't have access to electricity.

And in addition to that,

there are a couple billion who
have limited energy access

where they have blackouts
or only a few hours a day.

And it's really important that we
give them abundant, reliable energy

- that's cleaner and affordable.
- Right.

Now, what are some of the ways
that we can help out with that?

One important way
is nuclear energy.

Doesn't use a lot of land,
it produces a lot of energy

and most importantly,
it's zero-emission.

And that's one the keys here,
is that zero carbon footprint.

All right, Spencer,
thank you very much.

This is a good way
for me to get over to...

Dr. Katy Huff over at
Department of Energy.

Thank you.

We're on a mission to reach
zero carbon emissions by 2050.

One surefire to help with that
is nuclear energy.

I'm at the Department of
Energy Office of Nuclear Energy,

where I'm gonna
meet Dr. Katy Huff.

She's the acting
assistant secretary

and principal deputy
assistant secretary

to the Office of Nuclear Energy.

- Dr. Huff.
- Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you, too.

So, we're learning that nuclear
energy is going to be a key component

in us reaching a net
zero carbon future.

- Tell me about that.
- Absolutely.

Nuclear energy provides the
majority of the clean electricity

in the Unites States

and as we look towards
decarbonizing the rest of it,

carbon emitting sources
and fossil fuels,

nuclear energy is gonna play
an essential role in that transition,

both, existing reactors
and advanced reactors.

Okay now, I know that
the DOE is involved in funding

some research that's moving all
of that forward. Tell me about that.

The DOE is funding
advanced reactor research

as well as existing
reactor research around

operations and maintenance
improvements, accident tolerant fuels

and markets beyond electricity,

including a hydrogen economy
and applications of heat

for industrial processing
and advanced fuels.

All right, great. Well,
can't wait to learn more.

So, Dr. Huff...

how important is nuclear energy
going to be to tomorrow's world?

Oh, it's gonna be
absolutely essential.

As we attempt
to decarbonize the globe,

which is gonna be absolutely
necessary to fight climate change,

there are gonna be
a lot of applications

for nuclear power
in that decarbonization.

Including, for example, desalination,
where we remove the salt from seawater.

And heat from nuclear energy

is one of the only ways we can
do that without emitting carbon.

So, a lot of people feel that with
those alternate sources of energy,

wind, solar and water, that
we don't need nuclear power.

But that's really not true.

[Dr. Huff] No, that's right.

Renewables, as they exist today,

are quiet variable
with the weather.

For example, solar energy is

working when the sun is risen.

But that's not necessarily
when people need power.

And so,
to modulate the difference

between when energy is
produced and when it's needed,

you need a lot
of battery storage

or you need to back
up that grid with

fossil energy or nuclear energy.

We want to get away from fossils

and grid scale battery storage

really isn't at the scale
we need to back up

all of the renewable
expansions we're gonna need.

So, nuclear is a great option
to back up those renewables.

So, it seems as though all of
these alternate sources of energy

need to work together in order
to get us to the future we want.

Yes, absolutely.

And with the variability of both
existing and advanced reactors,

I believe that renewable
energy will work very nicely

with nuclear energy
backing it up.

That's great. Well, that's exactly
what I'm off to Idaho Falls to learn about.

So, thank you very much.

[Greg] I made it to Idaho Falls.

I'm gonna meet
with Emma Redfoot.

She's a reactor engineer with the
advanced fission company, Oklo.

And we're gonna talk about how

nuclear power compliments
alternate forms of energy

like hydro.

- Hi, Emma.
- Hi, Greg.

- Great to meet you.
- Nice to meet you as well.

Well, we're out here in
the middle of this wind farm

because I want to know
more about how we take

solar, hydro and wind
along with nuclear energy

and then put that
together in a marriage

that'll give us the power that
we need moving forward.

[Emma] That's a great question.

It's something I questioned a lot when
I was an environmental studies major.

What I learned is that we need
all of these clean energy sources

if we're gonna deal
with energy poverty

while also tackling
climate change.

Let's go to Idaho National Lab
so I can show you the research.

Excellent.

[Greg] I'm in Idaho Falls at
the Idaho National Laboratory.

I'm here to meet up, again,
with Emma Redfoot

and get an answer to the question
a lot of people have been asking,

"Why do we need
advanced nuclear reactors?"

- Hi, Emma.
- Hi, it's good to see you, Greg.

[Greg] Advanced
nuclear reactors.

This is a term that we hear bandied
about in a lot of different ways.

Tell me exactly what that means.

Yeah, that's
a very confusing term.

It's also one of my favorite
topics, so thanks for asking.

"Advanced Nuclear Reactors"
generally refers to

reactors that don't use water
in their primary flow system.

So, that means there's a lot of different
advanced reactor designs out there.

There's a lot
of different fuel types,

there's a lot of different liquids
that you have flowing through them.

Some don't even use liquids,
they use, you know, solid systems.

What's great about that is all
those different reactor designs

can then be used
where they compliment

the demands of
the community the most.

And so, some places
want to produce hydrogen

which means they'll need
really high temperatures.

So, things like high
temperature gas reactors,

and molten salt
reactors are great.

Consuming nuclear waste as fuel

is something that
advanced reactors can do.

So, sodium fast
reactors will be great

for trying to reduce
your waste burden.

A lot of these can
also operate flexibly.

I'm gonna talk about two
different general categories

of modern reactor
design right now.

Sounds great.

Small modular reactors and...

micro reactors.

So, small modular reactors is
one term you hear a lot of the time.

Generally,
"small modular reactors"

refers to anything that's
under 300 megawatts electric.

And they often do use water
as their... in their primary system.

So, this is the new scale
small modular reactor

and there's two things that
really excite me about these.

They are able to be
factory fabricated.

And they are able
to be more flexible

to what their
customer needs are.

So, the factory fabrication
allows for rapid deployment,

high quality standards

and for us to use
all of the insides that

nuclear can gain from
so many industries out there

that have scaled production using
good industrial process practices.

Right.

The flexibility aspect,
so in Idaho for example,

we're seeing the population
grow really quickly.

But, right now we might
only need three reactors

while we might need
12 in, say, a decade.

But you can add those modules at a
later date as they become necessary.

The other category that I'm gonna
talk to you about is micro reactors.

So, micro reactors are
generally under 20 megawatts.

So, they're really,
really little.

We have micro reactors all over this
country as research and test reactors.

- Okay.
- Micro reactors are great for being able to deploy

in remote communities,

than to just to meet the local
community's needs.

So, this is all about

putting this in a community
to make their lives better.

And this is why I became
a nuclear engineer.

It was really to address
local communities' challenges.

Well, that's amazing but is it
really a problem of that magnitude?

I mean, 300 million
people in India alone

don't have reliable
access to electricity.

And what that means is that they
don't have as great of access to...

healthcare, to education.

Women's rights improves
as more energy consumption.

So, what we're dealing
within the world now,

is we're dealing with climate
change, where we have to replace

all of these fossil fuels

as well as needing to meet the
demands of much of the world

in order for them to live
a higher quality of life

and be able to choose what
they want to do with their lives.

The micro reactors are
gonna be able to be placed

in these areas where they
are so desperately needed.

Yes, that's why I'm so excited
about factory fabrication

and being able
to deploy quickly.

It's because we can put a
lot of these reactors out there

due to faster
manufacturing processes.

So what's some of the researches
going on right now in these areas?

Are there some things
here you can show me?

Yeah, absolutely.

The research
that's been going on

for decades is helping to make
these advanced reactors a reality

so that we can deploy them
quickly. Let me show you.

So, the research
that's going on here,

tell me exactly where you see

nuclear energy going
as we move forward?

I mean, we've been talking about
advanced reactors this whole time.

And the reason that I...

think advanced reactors
can be deployed quickly,

all over the world is because
we know so much about them.

We know so much about them

because of research that's
been happening for decades.

Materials research is one
of the most important areas.

Right, and I know the one of the other
aspects that's moving things forward

is that the national labs
are now partnering

with private companies as well.

And that's a boon for everybody.

Yeah, the Oklo Aurora is
one of the best examples.

The first commercial
nuclear power plant

that's going to be deployed
at National Idaho Lab.

And not only is it going
to be deployed here,

but it also is going
to be taking

what is now considered
nuclear waste from EBR-II.

And using that as fuel
for this new reactor.

So, being able
to use nuclear waste

as fuel is a game changer
across the entire board.

Yeah, not only does it allow

for us to consume this
thing that's viewed

as a major burden and makes
people uncomfortable,

but it also means that
we don't have to mine.

- [chuckles]
- Right.

And so, environmental
benefits on both sides.

Wow and then that means
that even the amount of waste

that we're going to be dealing
with is gonna be so much smaller.

And all of this contributes
to a smaller carbon footprint.

All right. Well, Emma thank you
very much, this has been great.

- Thank you so much.
- Really appreciate it.

And I can't wait to see what
happens as we move forward.

Okay.

Idaho National Laboratory
has the history

as being the first place that
nuclear electricity was produced.

Well over half of all of
the advanced nuclear reactors

that were developed in the
world today started here at Idaho.

We're now on
the cusp of launching

the next generation
of advanced reactors.

The new light water reactors,

the new high temperature
gas-cooled reactors,

fast reactors,
all of those reactors

are looking to Idaho to help
them get into the commercial world.

Nuclear is on the cusp of...

seeing these new technologies

succeed, finally, because of
the attributes of nuclear power.

Being a clean energy source,

being a secure energy source,

and finally taking technologies
that Idaho developed

back in the 60's and 70's,

we're finally seeing
the industries,

the oil and gas companies,
the fossil fuels,

integrating with renewable
energy sources.

So, the job of the Idaho
National Laboratory today

is to deploy the technologies that
we've been working on for decades.

The reactor after next.

Not to just study it anymore,

we wanna get those technologies
deployed into the marketplace,

producing clean energy.

Not just electricity,

but now, we're aspiring
to produce hydrogen,

desalination, district heating.

All these applications
that provide clean energy,

not only in electricity
market, but in transportation

and industrial processes.

These are things we've
been studying for decades

and now is the time that
the reactor companies

like USNC and others
have found investors.

And there's really an appetite to
invest in clean energy like nuclear.

I think it's very clear that the time
is now to deploy these technologies

and it's time for the US
to take leadership.

That's why the Idaho
National Laboratory

and other national
laboratories are supporting

companies like USNC
and the other awardees

of the Department of Energy's
Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program.

Because we're, you know,
we led the deployment

of the light water
reactor technology.

We developed
the advanced reactors.

Other countries are developing these
technologies based on what we've done.

It's time for us
to make that leap

and innovate and develop
the more advanced reactors

for the next generation
of clean energy.

In this episode,

we've learned a lot of basic
information about nuclear energy.

And how it can help us to achieve our goals
of a net zero carbon footprint by 2050.

Now as we become more
concerned with climate change,

and become more
technologically advanced,

we really need to start thinking
about where our power comes from.

Now, wind, solar and hydro

are all going to be vital parts of
the energy mix moving forward.

But none of these
is a 24-hour a day,

seven-day a week,
365-day a year power source.

This is where nuclear energy
really comes into play.

We've also learned
about energy poverty

and how certain
areas of the world

either have very limited access,

or no access to even
basic electricity.

This is where modular
nuclear reactors

can be a real solution
to these situations.

So please,
join us for our next episode

as we continue to explore the innovations
happening with this amazing technology.

For Tomorrow's World Today,
I'm Greg Constantino.