Molten Salt Approaches to Mitigate Climate Change Management in Silicon Valley

At our March café, we are pleased to host astrophysicist Frank H. Shu who will lead a discussion focused on nuclear energy.

Shu will survey current energy sources and argue that our effective strategies to mitigate the worst effects of climate change include: (a) carbon capture and sequestration of the emissions from fossil fuels, (b) high-throughput production of biofuels, (c) rapid build-out of nuclear power.  He will discuss how molten salt technologies allow us to combine (a) and (b) while exploiting the massive infrastructure and distribution networks established for the fossil fuels industries, and to contribute to (c) if a policy consensus can be reached concerning the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel and the closing of the fuel cycle.  We will also discuss the science and technology of three nuclear fuel cycles and discuss why many scientists and engineers have become convinced that molten-salt breeder reactors (MSBRs) offer the best combination of safety, cost, and sustainability (including responsible waste management) with little added risk of weapons proliferation.