Nuclear power harnesses the energy of the atom. Nuclear power was invented in the 1950’s and does not release carbon dioxide in power production. It is suitable for baseload power and can generate whatever the weather (baseload means the electricity that is always needed and must be on at all times). Nuclear power stations can produce vast quantities of power by splitting heavy uranium atoms using tiny particles called neutrons and releasing heat and more neutrons so that the process can continue. The heat is used to boil water into steam that turns large turbines to generate electricity. This type of nuclear power is called Nuclear Fission.

While it is great to have nuclear power when we are looking at climate change, there are some disadvantages of the technology. Some people worry about repeating a Chernobyl or Fukushima incident when areas of land are contaminated after things go wrong. Thankfully, the industry has some of the strictest safety standards in the world. The tiny amount of waste from nuclear power is strongly radioactive and not good for people or wildlife so this waste must be kept separate and locked away for many thousands of years. Better still this waste should be broken down or recycled. This is a challenge the industry has not yet solved so scientists are still working on it.

The nuclear industry have enough uranium to support a scale-up in nuclear power for the next half century but uranium is not a renewable resource so more research will be needed. Scientists are working on this by developing reactors that use uranium more efficiently and by trying thorium, which is more plentiful, instead. There is still a lot more nuclear fission technology development yet to come.

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