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27 May 2010
| Industry lifeline for USEC enrichment plantToshiba and Babcock & Wilcox (B&W) have offered to invest $200 million equity in USEC to support the embattled American Centrifuge plant (ACP). Market capitalization of USEC is $600 million, and it has spent $1.8 billion so far on the ACP, about half of the total initial budget. The offer is contingent upon regulatory approval for the project and USEC securing a $2 billion government loan guarantee. Toshiba wants to complement its Westinghouse conversion and fuel fabrication activities to give a more comprehensive fuel supply chain for reactor customers, and B&W aims to secure its investment in the joint venture set up a year ago with USEC to make the large American centrifuges. B&W took over manufacturing these from Boeing in mid 2007. WNN 25/5/10. US Nuclear Fuel Cycle Toyota leaps into electric vehiclesHaving stood back from electric vehicle (EV) developments while enjoying the huge success of its hybrid Prius, Toyota has announced that it will invest $50 million in US-based Tesla and jointly develop a new low-priced EV - basically a small Toyota with a Tesla powertrain. Tesla has bought the NUMMI car plant at Fremont in California as a base for all its manufacturing. This has a capacity of half a million vehicles per year and uses the Toyota Production System which will now be focused on the new Toyota-Tesla model and its own Tesla S, development of which is being financed by a $465 million federal loan. Tesla planned to mass-produce the model S from 2011. The target price for the new model EV with Toyota is less than $30,000. More than 1000 of the high-priced, high performance Tesla Roadster EVs have now been sold, proving Tesla's leading-edge powertrain concept. The Tesla S is 40% heavier but half the price ($57,000, delivered in 2012). Its specifications are not public, except that like the Roadster it has a single-speed gearbox, and will offer three lithium-ion battery pack options of 42, 65 or 85 kWh, giving 250, 360 or 480 km range. Charging is from domestic power, 45 minute quick charge from 3-phase 480-volt/ 100 amp supply, or 5-minute under-floor battery pack swap. Electricity and Cars WNA analyses reactor decommissioning numbersThe WNA has tabulated 127 power reactors which have been closed for decommissioning. Most were shut down because there was no longer any economic justification for running them. Practically all are relatively early-model designs, and about 45 are experimental or prototype power reactors. Three categories: 1. Experimental and early commercial types whose continued operation was no longer justified, usually for economic reasons. Most of these started up before 1980 and their short life is not surprising for the first couple of decades of a major new technology. About 35 of this 95 ran relatively full-term, for a design life of 25-30 years or so (design lives today are 40-60 years). 2. Seven units which closed following an accident or serious incident (not necessarily to the reactor itself) which meant that repair was not economically justified. 3. Units which were closed prematurely by political decision or due to regulatory impediment without clear or significant economic or technical justification. The total here is 25, 17 of these being early Soviet designs. Decommissioning Nuclear Facilities Other papers updated on the WNA Information Service (see WNA web site): Safety of Nuclear Power Reactors, Research reactors , Radioisotopes in medicine Country papers: Denmark , France , Germany , Japan , United Kingdom World Nuclear Association, www.world-nuclear.org - UK ISSN 1326-4907 |
