Scientists harness unexpected ingredient in pursuit of revolutionary power source: 'It's like baking a cake'

Nuclear scientists from Idaho National Laboratory said in a news release that a recent breakthrough was "like baking a cake." 

The findings, detailed in multiple government reports, outline how the team uncovered the right ingredients for the difficult molten salt project. 

 "Nobody has ever made this amount of uranium chloride before. We had to develop the process from scratch," technical lead Bill Phillips said in the lab release. It's part of five years of work on the Molten Chloride Reactor Experiment.

Molten salt reactors were first developed in the 1950s. They are unique because they have higher efficiency and lower radioactive waste than others. They operate at extreme temperatures and use liquid fuel, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. The Idaho team is using molten chloride salt and uranium as a fuel and coolant, which is considered safer, per the summary.

The team was able to convert more than 90% of metal uranium feedstock into usable fuel salt, the first time this rate was achieved, as Phillips noted. Overcoming nuclear-level hurdles required complicated analysis. The team said it used some kitchen-based lingo to help the conversation. 

"We've been doing experiments with different food names to help communicate the processes — like angel cake or stone soup," Phillips said in the release.

It's probably best to leave dinner to the chefs. But the atomic experts can take responsibility for powering the oven — and maybe even entire homes and communities — should their molten salt findings prove fruitful. 

They have progressed from making ounces of fuel to more than 12 pounds per batch, according to the summary. 

"We're almost at the moment where we can bake the cake," Phillips said. 

They have the recipe in place and know how hot the oven needs to be, or rather, the precise nuclear conditions for safe energy production. 

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The team plans to make five batches by this fall and to be operational by 2028. The summary said that Atlanta's Southern Company and Bill Gates-owned, Washington-based TerraPower plan to build a reactor of this type. Experts from those companies helped with the Idaho work, per the government. TerraPower is also involved in a coal-to-nuclear project in Wyoming. 

Other nuclear innovations include portable reactors that can operate in remote settings. Microsoft is part of an effort to reopen a portion of Three Mile Island — a move that has drawn criticism. Game-changing fusion reactions, which produce nearly no waste, are also making progress at labs worldwide. 

So far, nuclear power provides about 10% of the planet's electricity without producing heat-trapping air pollution, according to the International Energy Agency. That's important, as NASA has linked the gases to increased risks for severe weather, which is already being realized globally. If the energy source can safely replace fossil fuels, it would be a substantial win in the effort to curb carbon dioxide emissions, which experts agree is crucial to avoiding worst-case scenarios from our planet's overheating. 

That being said, physicist Amory Lovins told The Cool Down that solar and wind sites are "the cheapest way to build power facilities" to meet demand, as nuclear costs are increasing. Lovins is co-founder of Colorado's RMI, a nonprofit working on clean-energy solutions.

For the molten salt team's part, recent success has them on the cusp of something better, per the release. 

"We're motivated by what molten chloride reactors can do that other energy technologies can't," scientist Jacob Yingling said. 

Anyone can help to reduce planet-warming fumes with some simple actions at home. Just unplug so-called energy vampires at night. These dormant chargers and devices can cause a lot of pollution. You can also save up to $165 annually by pulling a few plugs. 

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