The dream of limitless energy

How can nuclear energy be harnessed for a sustainable future?

Energy is a fundamental element of human development. It enables economic progress and society relies on it to support basic needs such as cooking, heating and lighting. There are renewable and non-renewable sources of energy; renewable sources include solar, water and wind, and non-renewable sources include fossil fuels and nuclear energy.   

The production and consumption of energy are the primary sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. GHGs are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, nitrous oxide and fluorinated gases. The presence of these gases in the atmosphere cause global warming, which can cause impacts such as rising sea levels and extreme weather conditions.   

In the 21st century, fossil fuels remain the primary global energy source. Since the demand for energy will increase with population growth, it is essential to transition from non-renewable to renewable energy sources to reduce GHG emissions.  

Nuclear energy is a very low emitting source of renewable energy. Most GHG emissions produced by nuclear power plants come from the exploration and processing of uranium, and fuel processing.   

Nuclear energy can be produced through nuclear fission and fusion. Nuclear fission is a reaction where the nucleus of an atom splits into several parts. Nuclear fusion happens two light atomic nuclei combine (fuse) to form a single heavier nucleus, and in that process,  release a lot of energy. The main difference between nuclear fission and fusion is the amount of energy released during the splitting and fusing process. A larger amount of energy is released during the fusion reaction, typically more than four times the energy released from fission reactions.   

Worldwide nuclear energy is produced through fission reactions, mostly in water cooled reactors using uranium as a fuel. Roughly 11% of the world’s energy comes from nuclear power plants. The development of new technologies and materials has extended the operating life of nuclear reactors from 20 to 30 years to 60 years and more. Fast breeder reactors are an improved generation of nuclear reactors as they generate more fuel than they consume, use uranium sources more efficiently and have a longer operating life.  

Nuclear fusion has the potential to generate clean energy to meet global demand due to the amount of energy released from fusion reactions and the availability of raw materials required for this process. However, this energy source is still at an experimental stage.      

Compared to solar and wind energy, nuclear power plants do not need large energy storage capacities or rely on external factors to provide continuous energy to the grid. It is considered a reliable, affordable and low-carbon energy alternative, that can be deployed on a large scale.  

Adapted from Mathew, M. D. (2022). Nuclear energy: A pathway towards mitigation of global warming. Progress in Nuclear Energy, 143, 104080.  Read the original article 

Questions for students: 

1. Define nuclear fission. 
2. Define nuclear fusion. 
3. Compare the amount of energy produced between nuclear fission and nuclear fusion. 

Key words for students to understand: 

• Nuclear 
• Economic 
• Renewable 
• Non-renewable 
• Nuclear energy 
• Greenhouse gas 
• Carbon dioxide 
• Methane 
• Nitrous oxide 
• Fluorinated gases 
• Global warming 
• Fossil fuels 
• Emitting 
• Uranium 
• Fission 
• Fusion 
• Atom 
• Nucleus 
• Grid 
• Reliable 
• Affordable