"Game Changers" Bill Gates and Buffett to Build Sodium Nuclear Power Plant

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft (MS), and Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, are embarking on the construction of small nuclear power plants utilizing sodium.

According to Sputnik News on the 2nd (local time), Gates stated this during a video conference hosted by Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon, emphasizing that "sodium will be a 'game changer' in the energy industry."

TerraPower, a nuclear power company founded by Gates, and Pacificorp, an electric utility owned by Buffett, plan to build a sodium-cooled nuclear power plant on the site of a closed coal plant in Wyoming.

During the meeting, Gates mentioned that Wyoming, the largest coal-producing state in the U.S., has been a leader in the energy sector for over 100 years, expressing confidence that "the sodium investments by the two companies will keep Wyoming at the forefront for decades to come."

The next-generation reactor to be built by Gates and Buffett will have a capacity of 345 MWe (megawatts electric) and will use the Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor (SFR) technology. Unlike conventional light water reactors or heavy water reactors, it induces nuclear fission using fast neutrons and cools the heat generated with liquid sodium to produce electricity from the steam created. Governor Gordon described the Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor as "the fastest and clearest path to zero carbon emissions."

Gates estimated that the construction of the nuclear power plant will cost approximately 1 billion dollars (about 1.1 trillion won). The exact location of the reactor is expected to be announced by the end of the year.