日本幫助比爾蓋茨在懷俄明州建造高科技核反應堆 - 讀賣新聞

Recently Yahoo news on-line reported the following:

Japan to help build Bill Gates' high-tech nuclear reactor in Wyoming -Yomiuri

Fri, December 31, 2021, 8:26 PM

TOKYO (Reuters) - The Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd are set to cooperate with the United States and Bill Gates' venture company to build a high-tech nuclear reactor in Wyoming, the daily Yomiuri reported on Saturday.

The parties will sign an agreement as early as January for JAEA and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to provide technical support and data from Japan's own advanced reactors, the report said citing multiple unidentified sources.

TerraPower, an advanced nuclear power venture founded by Gates, is set to open its Natrium plant in Wyoming in 2028. The U.S. government will provide funding to cover half of the $4 billion project.

Terrapower had initially explored the prospect of building an experimental nuclear plant with state-owned China National Nuclear Corp, until it was forced to seek new partners after the administration of Donald Trump restricted nuclear deals with China.

The United States has been competing with China and Russia which also hope to build and export advanced reactors.

Japan, on the other hand, has a bitter history of decommissioning its Monju prototype advanced reactor in 2016, a project which cost $8.5 billion but provided little results and years of controversy.

The Monju facility saw accidents, regulatory breaches, and cover-ups since its conception, and was closed following public distrust of nuclear energy after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.

Both JAEA and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries could not be reached for comment, as their offices were closed for the New Year holidays.

(Reporting by Sakura Murakami; Editing by Kim Coghill)

Translation

東京（路透社）- 據《讀賣新聞》週六報導，日本原子能機構（JAEA）和三菱重工將與美國和比爾蓋茨的風險投資公司合作，在懷俄明州建造一座高科技核反應堆。

報導報導援引多個身份不明的消息來源稱，雙方最早將於 1 月簽署一項協議，JAEA 和三菱重工將提供技術支持及日本自己的先進反應堆的和數據。

由蓋茨創立的先進核電企業 TerraPower 將於 2028 年在懷俄明州開設 Natrium 工廠。美國政府將提供資金，支付這價值40 億美元項目的一半。

Terrapower 最初曾與國有的中國核工業集團公司探討建設試驗核電站的前景，直到德特朗普政府限制與中國的核交易後，它被迫尋找新的合作夥伴。

美國一直在與也希望建造和出口先進反應堆的中國和俄羅斯競爭。

另一方面，日本在 2016 年退役其 Monju 原型先進反應堆的歷史令人痛苦。該項目耗資 85 億美元，但收效甚微，且導致爭議多年。

自構想以來，Monju設施發生了事故、監管違規和掩飾，並在 2011 年福島核災難後因公眾對核能的不信任而關閉。

因為辦公室因新年假期而關閉, 所以無法聯繫到 JAEA 和三菱重工置評。

So, the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd are set to cooperate with the United States and Bill Gates' venture company to build a high-tech nuclear reactor in Wyoming.

Note: According to its web-site, TerraPower together with another company, have based on decades of unparalleled design expertise and technical capabilities to develop the Natrium™ technology which features a cost-competitive sodium fast reactor combined with a molten salt energy storage system. This unique combination will provide clean, flexible energy and stability, and integrate seamlessly into power grids with high penetrations of renewables.