OpenAtom and Elemental

2012Compact nuclear power had long been considered intractable for civilian use. But on a cold December day, at an alternative energy conference, a team of academics reveals a new discovery: charging up small nuclear reactors over several days at high energy can produce clean power output. It is not yet competitive with other energy sources, but it does seem promising. The name of this new technology is Compact Nuclear Power (CNP). Some note that at larger energy loads, CNP cores might become unstable, leading to meltdowns or explosions. The risks remain theoretical for now. OpenAtomFuel materials and CNP core design continue to improve. ExxonMobil releases some early commercially viable cores. It is becoming clear that this technology will be transformative—at minimum, it will accelerate world energy production at a time that it is greatly needed, and some even say that it will unlock transmutation, creating plentiful quantities of various elements from feedstock. A group of concerned nuclear engineers convene to create a nonprofit, OpenAtom, that will distribute the benefits of the technology better than a private company would. Its stated goal: "Our goal is to advance energy distribution in the way that is most likely to benefit humanity as a whole, unconstrained by a need to generate financial return... it’ll be important to have a leading research institution which can prioritize a good outcome for all over its own self-interest." Given the competitive nature of what the technological race could develop into, OpenAtom commits to joining efforts of other humanity-focused nuclear energy producers in its charter, if it runs into a scenario where race dynamics would limit the capacity to develop CNP in a safe manner. Notwithstanding, the same document maintains "OpenAtom must be on the cutting edge of nuclear energy development—policy and safety advocacy alone would be insufficient." The concerns around the new technology are not universal. Leading nuclear physicis