University of Michigan researchers are working on a way to put breakthrough nuclear microreactors on autopilot. 

The plan would leverage machine learning, a branch of artificial intelligence, to allow the small nuclear chambers to adjust power output autonomously, according to a Wolverine news release.

This would reduce training time and improve performance in remote locations, in space, on ships, and even for grid support.

"This study is a step toward a forward digital twin where reinforcement learning drives system actions," assistant professor Majdi Radaideh, the study's senior author, said in the statement. 

The team used advanced computing, giving reactors the know-how to adjust power demand on their own in a process known as load-following. 

The idea behind the effort is to make the process more efficient and reduce training time while allowing for remote management, but Edwin Lyman, Director of Nuclear Power Safety at the Union of Concerned Scientists, expressed concerns about the research in an email to The Cool Down, saying that "this kind of theoretical study is getting way ahead of the actual state of these technologies."

"Putting aside the whole AI question, it isn't even clear if load following can be done safely with operating nuclear reactors, much less paper reactors that have not been built or tested," Lyman said. "It is not currently approved by the NRC for U.S. reactors, and in France, where load following is allowed, there is evidence that it is imposing stresses that may be responsible for the unusual cracking of pipes that is being seen in many reactors.

"I'm not aware of any testing that has been done yet on TRISO [tristructural isotropic] fuel under load-following conditions. And rapid changes in power level may have other safety implications that would likely require integral testing to understand. If there is no actual experimental data available for training AI models on real reactors, this effort is just garbage in, garbage out as far as I'm concerned."

The small reactors are a lower-cost alternative to larger ones used in the country's 54 nuclear plants, which generate nearly 20% of U.S. electricity, per the Energy Information Administration. They are being developed by companies such as Westinghouse. 

The innovation would use eight rotating drums that center around the reactor core, the crucial place where atoms are split to make energy, as the University of Michigan detailed. 

From there, it gets about as technical as you'd expect when dealing with atomic energy. 

"One side of the control drum's circumference is lined with a neutron-absorbing material, boron carbide," the experts wrote. "When rotated inward, the drums absorb neutrons from the core, causing the neutron population and the power to decrease. Rotating the cores outward keeps more neutrons in the core, increasing power output." 

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The summary added that the real-time adjustments are superior to predictive models. 

Neutrons are a key part of the fission reaction process, which is when atoms are split to create energy. 

In a novel test, the researchers analyzed a setup that trained eight independent "agents to control a specific drum while sharing information about the core as a whole." 

The drum-to-drum communication helped increase learning while reducing time. 

It all boils down to superior performance — a 150% lower cost control than industry-standard mechanisms, as the University of Michigan observed. 

Nuclear energy is promising because it produces no planet-warming air pollution when making power. Those dirty fumes are contributing to worldwide overheating that NASA and other experts have linked to severe weather — such as heat waves that could make some places too hot for living. 

The downside is expense, slow development, and long-lasting nuclear waste. Fusion, which forms new atoms instead of splitting them like common fission, is an alternative that doesn't produce harmful byproducts. While breakthroughs have been promising, the tech isn't ready to provide energy sustainably. 

Nuclear proponents cite misconceptions about waste (it comes in small pellets, not ooze-filled drums), and the boon of unlimited cleaner energy. Watchdogs warn that calamity is a meltdown away, and Lyman and his UCS colleagues generally warn extra against rushing to unleash new, untested or lightly tested nuclear technologies. 

Pennsylvania's Three Mile Island is a prime example of the risk-reward scenario. A portion of the plant, the location of a 1979 nuclear disaster that narrowly avoided being much worse, is being reopened by Microsoft to offset skyrocketing data center power demand. 

It's important to stay educated on these projects. Nuclear is promising, especially fusion, but critics have valid fears, as evidenced by past accidents, and often point to the expense and time investments to get nuclear going versus cheaper and less dangerous alternatives such as solar, wind, and wave power. 

Solar is a safe energy option that can easily be leveraged at home, reducing or eliminating your utility bill. 

EnergySage is a vetted service that can help you unlock all the incentives and find the best installer to save up to $10,000 on the system. It's a great time to look into the tech, as tax breaks are still available. Legislation being considered by Congress could end them sooner than planned. 

At Michigan, the experts said more testing needs to be completed before autonomous reactors are stationed in remote locations.

"Next, we aim to close the loop with inverse calibration and high-fidelity simulations to enhance control accuracy," Radaideh said.

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