Halden, Norway, known in nuclear circles for its long-running (1958–2018) research reactor, is partnering with Norsk Kjernekraft (aka Norwegian Nuclear Power) and Østfold Energi, a hydro, wind, and heat energy provider, to explore the idea of siting a small modular reactor plant in the municipality, located in southeastern Norway, near the border with Sweden.

Denmark-based Seaborg Technologies, developer of the compact molten salt reactor (CMSR), has teamed with two South Korean firms—shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) and nuclear plant owner and operator Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP)—to form a consortium for the development of floating nuclear plants featuring the CMSR. The consortium agreement was signed in Seoul on April 20.

Schönfeldt

In a recent episode of Azeem Azhar’s Exponential View, Troels Schönfeldt, chief executive officer of Seaborg Technologies, discussed his company’s reactor technology and other nuclear-related issues. Seaborg Technologies, which was founded in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2014, is developing a compact molten salt reactor (CMSR) that it says is safe, significantly smaller, better for the environment, and inexpensive, even compared to fossil fuels, and can be manufactured quickly and deployed on barges to any location worldwide. The Exponential View is a podcast presented by the Harvard Business Review and hosted by Azhar, an entrepreneur and investor.

Different type of reactor: “We’re designing a fundamentally different type of nuclear reactor,” Schönfeldt said. “The powerful bullet points [are] that it cannot melt down or explode, it cannot release gases, it cannot be used for nuclear weapons. It could even burn nuclear waste, so we can get rid of some of the old waste stockpiles.”