Bill Gates' nuclear venture plans reactor to complement solar, wind power boom

A nuclear energy venture founded by Bill Gates said Thursday it hopes to build small advanced nuclear power stations that can store electricity to supplement grids increasingly supplied by intermittent sources like solar and wind power.

The effort is part of the billionaire philanthropist's push to help fight climate change, and is targeted at helping utilities slash their emissions of planet-warming gases without undermining grid reliability.TerraPower LLC, which Gates founded 14 years ago, and its partner GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, plan to commercialize stations called Natrium in the United States later this decade, TerraPower's President and Chief Executive Chris Levesque said.

Molten salt power storage has been used at thermal solar plants in the past, but leaks have plagued some of the projects. Gates, chairman of TerraPower's board, said in a statement that Natrium innovation was"extremely difficult" but its team had"the expertise, commercial experience, and the resources necessary" to develop viable reactors.

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