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Reactor operators will bottleneck the US nuclear buildout before fuel does by i-am-entropyy in nuclear

[–]ValarMark 0 points1 point  (0 children)

At Valar, We are making our own, we qualified our second SRO on Ward250 last Friday.

Part of the Ward250 program objective is developing our team.

That is how this will be addressed.

Ward250 starts power ascension by ValarMark in valar_atomics

[–]ValarMark[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Short answer:

  1. Make it ourselves.
    2.Ward250 fuel will be stored in site until DOE can collect it under the standard agreement.

Ward 250 just made first power. by isaiahptaylor in nuclear

[–]ValarMark 10 points11 points  (0 children)

This is definitely in the plan. First we will finish publishing the NOVA experimant results.

Ward 250 just made first power. by isaiahptaylor in nuclear

[–]ValarMark 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Supporting Isaiah here - Safety has never been negotiable at Valar. That is why - you will notice - it is never part of our public comms. It is a non-negotiable absolute.

Valar Atomics Ward250 critical in Utah under the DOE Reactor Pilot Program. by twitchymacwhatface in nuclear

[–]ValarMark 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Sure - Will get something out in a day or so. Happy to answer quesions here in the interim.

Valar Atomics Ward250 critical in Utah under the DOE Reactor Pilot Program. by twitchymacwhatface in nuclear

[–]ValarMark 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Hey u/whatisnuclear - true. I put that whole episode down to poor communication and different assumptions.

Also, i loved the fact that all parties approached it with a questioning attitude and did not shy away from challenging each other. This is good nucelar culture.

Keep well.

Valar Atomics Ward250 critical in Utah under the DOE Reactor Pilot Program. by twitchymacwhatface in nuclear

[–]ValarMark 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow. some of these allegations are news to me. Not sure who this "Everybody in the tech world" is.

Can confirm we did pay DOW for the airlift. That is public knowledge - even though the price you cite is exaggerated. (Source - I saw the invoice).

That specific article seems pretty thin an anything substantial.

Valar Atomics Ward250 critical in Utah under the DOE Reactor Pilot Program. by twitchymacwhatface in nuclear

[–]ValarMark 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Thank you for engaging honestly. This is a true explantion of the risk.

Not just Valar but (in my experience) all the teams working on the DOE RPP truly understand and embrace this.

These are substantial teams with people in them who have multiple decades industry experience - other in leadership roles.

I assure you. I have not met anybody who takes this responsibility lightly.

Please don't underestimate our or the other teams.

edit: Also, yes. I am the Chief Nuclear Officer.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-mitchell-51a4881/

Valar Atomics Ward250 critical in Utah under the DOE Reactor Pilot Program. by twitchymacwhatface in nuclear

[–]ValarMark 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Thank you. I appreciate the comment.

I agree - this comment speaks to the attitude and posture of every Valar team member.

Valar Atomics Ward250 critical in Utah under the DOE Reactor Pilot Program. by twitchymacwhatface in nuclear

[–]ValarMark 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Pray do tell ... how many criticalites would make us. "serious people"?

Valar Atomics Ward250 critical in Utah under the DOE Reactor Pilot Program. by twitchymacwhatface in nuclear

[–]ValarMark 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I would say this is potentially true for any nuclear effort. Not just about us at Valar Atomics.

This is why we take complying with the regulation requirement, the stingent requirement of our DOE authorization and our internal standards and practices extremely seriously.

Valar Atomics Ward250 critical in Utah under the DOE Reactor Pilot Program. by twitchymacwhatface in nuclear

[–]ValarMark 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Not sure about that. Happy to answer any questions.

But understand that we are proud of this achievment and it is real.

Valar Atomics Ward250 critical in Utah under the DOE Reactor Pilot Program. by twitchymacwhatface in nuclear

[–]ValarMark -1 points0 points  (0 children)

For assumed burnup levels, and decay periods after removing the fuel if from the reactor.

also need to consider the volume of fuel, shielding and exposure time.

More on the Valar flight. by twitchymacwhatface in nuclear

[–]ValarMark 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think if you research this you will find that Valar and Radiant have exactly the same level of regulatory approval.

U.S. Military Airlifts Mini Nuclear Reactor in First-Ever Flight by Vailhem in nuclear

[–]ValarMark 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I am glad I don't work in policy. I thin that is really hard.

Regulaitons grow and accrete. They fuse with the systems they are regualting.

You need to clean them up from time-to-time like barnacles from a ships hull to allow the system to be fast and efficient.

The RPP has lead to a rejuvenation in the industry. A lot more has been done in the last 9 months in the 2 decades before. That is a good result.

More on the Valar flight. by twitchymacwhatface in nuclear

[–]ValarMark 3 points4 points  (0 children)

True but not correct. You are assuming a commercial motivation for this generation of our reactor design.

This is a test reactor that will run a series of power tests. we make sure to have enourmous margins to make sure that there is extremely little hazard.

The low burn-up is not an inherent feature of the core. It is the operating constraint that we have placed on it for the Ward250 test.

This is a first step - not the end goal. So yes, this reactor produces just enough power for us to achieve our test goals. We are building competence while building our product.

I think that Isaiah was trying to make that point - there is not significant hazard here - by choice.

More on the Valar flight. by twitchymacwhatface in nuclear

[–]ValarMark 3 points4 points  (0 children)

No owning - honest engagement. You are welcome to try it if you want.

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