Portable Nuclear 'Hot Tubs' for Power Anywhere

Nuclear power for the masses. A small nuclear generator that will power thousands of homes for a few years with very little maintenance.

FOXNews.com

Yes, I DO want a nuclear reactor in my back yard.

That's what Hyperion Power Generation, a small Santa Fe, N.M.-based startup, hopes lots of utility and energy companies say over the next few years as it prepares to build and market small, self-contained, portable nuclear reactors that need almost no oversight or maintenance.

"Our goal is to generate electricity for 10 cents a watt anywhere in the world," Hyperion CEO John Deal told Britain's Observer newspaper in an article published Sunday. "They will cost approximately $25 million each. For a community with 10,000 households, that is a very affordable $2,500 per home."

In fact, Hyperion claims its sealed, buried reactors, which would be 10-15 feet long and about 10 feet wide, could power 20,000 homes for 7 to 10 years. At that point they'd be dug up and hauled back to the plant for refueling.

The portable, self-regulating nuclear reactor isn't a new one, and many companies and organizations have been trying to develop them.