Sunday, March 19, 2023

Rolls-Royce to Develop Nuclear Power for a Moon Base

In what must be an unusual Sunday, press release, the U.K. Space Agency and Rolls-Royce announced the agency has decided to continue funding Rolls-Royce's project to create a small nuclear-powered reactor that could serve as a long-term energy source for lunar bases. 

The new boost to Rolls-Royce’s research pot follows a previous $303,495 (£249,000) study funded by the U.K. Space Agency in 2022. With the new funds, the company hopes to have a demonstration model for a modular micro-reactor ready to deliver to the moon by 2029.

The article grabbed my attention simply because it mentioned Rolls-Royce and I had no idea that the luxury car company had anything to do with small nuclear reactor design or production. The press release goes on to say:

Relatively small and lightweight compared to other power systems, a nuclear micro-reactor could enable continuous power regardless of location, available sunlight, and other environmental conditions.

Rolls-Royce will be working alongside a variety of collaborators including the University of Oxford, University of Bangor, University of Brighton, University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) and Nuclear AMRC. The funding means Rolls-Royce can further strengthen its knowledge of these complex systems, with a focus on three key features of the Micro-Reactor; the fuel used to generate heat, the method of heat transfer and technology to convert that heat into electricity.

Artist's illustration of a Rolls-Royce microreactor on the moon. (Image credit: Rolls-Royce Holdings)

The quote above said the work will focus on the "three key features of the Micro-Reactor; the fuel used to generate heat, the method of heat transfer and technology to convert that heat into electricity," and that implies they have barely scratched the surface of what they need to know to successfully run a small reactor in that environment.  As you undoubtedly already know, the majority of near-Earth and inner solar system missions depend on solar power for their energy; photovoltaic cells like you can put on your roof.  Probes to the outer planets, such as the Voyager, Cassini and other probes, tended to run instead on small Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators or RTGs.  

RTGs aren't conventional nuclear reactors by any means, but aren't dependent on the diminishing sunlight as the probes went ever farther from the sun.  The RTG uses the difference in heat from the nuclear-isotope (the isotope used varied with the mission) and the cold of deep space to drive a thermoelectric generator; something not likely to work baking in the daytime temperatures on the surface of the moon.  A small thermoelectric generator can be a hobbyist toy, and they're cheap and easy to play with. 

It sounds to me like what Rolls-Royce is looking to develop is something like the KRUSTY system we talked about nearly five years ago.  KRUSTY was the acronym for Kilopower Reactor Using Stirling TechnologY that used nuclear fuel to produce heat, Stirling engines (another hobbyist favorite) to turn that heat into mechanical energy and then convert that mechanical energy into electrical energy.  

Conceptual illustration of a complete lunar base, powered by the reactors visible in the foreground and middle distance.  (Image credit: Rolls-Royce Holdings) 

Closing words to the UK Department of Science, Innovation and Technology:

"Partnerships like this, between British industry, the U.K. Space Agency and government, are helping to create jobs across our £16 billion space tech sector and help ensure the U.K. continues to be a major force in frontier science," George Freeman, Minister of State at the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology, said in the March 17 press release.



13 comments:

  1. If I remember correctly RR build the reactors for the British subs.

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    1. Yep. RR has been building nuke reactors and doing nuke research since WWII.

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    2. Not knowing that history, I figured a company their size could buy a smaller company (or companies) to do the specialized stuff and be in that business whenever they wanted to.

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  2. This has always been the missing item. If we want to build any kind of permanent or semi-permanent moon site, it will need POWER. Serious, stable power in a range much larger than an RTG or PV is going to provide. A self-contained modular reactor/generation system is the only viable end solution.

    This has always bugged me a little about Musk's approach. He's got the rocket transport company (SpaceX), a company with significant experience designing and building electric vehicles (Tesla), a company with experience in tunnel boring equipment (TBC), and a finger in a few other pies. Lots of useful engineering knowledge, software knowledge and construction experience that could be very useful in the future (at least, the future as I want it to be). But in the end, all of this stuff needs power and if you are going to build and keep a serious station, a few megawatts of reliable power would be absolutely necessary. The fact that he hadn't shown any movement towards getting into that segment of the overall picture always kinda nagged at me.

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    1. Problem with nuke power research is that, though spaceflight is very regulated, controlled and a big pain in the arse, nuke power regulation and control makes spaceflight look like tinkertoy level instructions.

      Big waste of money just to get set up to start gettin the permissions, waivers, licenses, security colonoscopies and such. Far easier to work with existing companies and research facilities who have jumped through all the hoops and had the inspections and all that.

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  3. A tough niche to fill. Can't use conventional fission technology on the moon because all current designs rely on water for heat transfer and protection. Not enough water there. Fusion is not an option and may never be an option. Viable fusion has been "10 years from now" ever since I was a toddler. That's not likely to change in the foreseeable future. Something in the middle like this may work and could provide the necessary technical push to replace a lot of power supplies on earth.

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  4. There have been persistent rumors that even NASA is looking at nukes-in-space for power and for propulsion.

    One of the nice things about the size of Starship is that it lends itself to all sorts of potential modifications once the price of the shell is paid for.

    Would not be surprised if Musk is playing the long game and has been preparing for nuke power and nuke propulsion.

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  6. Roll Royce have been proposing small modular reactors for feeding the National Grid in the UK. Presumably this is the same principle, but with extra complications for field service calls.

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  7. "Relatively small and lightweight compared to other power systems, a nuclear micro-reactor could enable continuous power regardless of location, available sunlight, and other environmental conditions."

    Wonder if anyone recognizes that those environmental conditions also exist on earth: night time, no wind, etc.

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  8. My company reps for RR SMRs. Not the space based micro reactors, but the SMRs due out within the next couple of years.

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    1. How soon before one gets installed at your casa, LL?

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    2. I'm guessing I'm not the only one who would be rather interested in a piece on the SMR world. The last piece I wrote on it was about NuScale and I read they're fully certified now. I'm sure there have to be other systems and technologies out there.

      If you feel like publishing one on Virtual Mirage.

      Just sayin'.

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