By: John Gilleland, Ph.D, Chief Technology Officer
Forging ahead on clean energy technologies is as critical as ever. The International Energy Agency’s latest projections indicate that world energy consumption will increase by a staggering 30 percent by 2040. Factor in that global carbon emissions reached record highs last year and it becomes ominously clear that we need options for electricity generation that can scale safely, cleanly and reliably to meet the needs of the world’s 8 billion people.
TerraPower exists on the premise that access to energy is the common denominator when it comes to quality of life. Starting with this mission instead of just another technology idea has given us a jump-start with investors willing to make investments that are truly strategic in both duration and magnitude.
TerraPower is celebrating its tenth anniversary. With that milestone, we’re looking back at progress we have made on our mission to bring advanced nuclear technologies to the marketplace. But we’re also looking forward to the future. Clean energy technologies offer an ability to transform how we live, move and thrive. We are just getting started.
Our goal of deploying advanced nuclear technologies exists within a context of bigger government and industry activities. As we look ahead, we anticipate how our technologies will contribute to a framework for sustainable decarbonization. For sanitation, transportation and agriculture, the next generation of nuclear technologies will set the stage to achieve green, low-carbon solutions.
Delivery of a nuclear technology in a predictable, safe and cost-effective fashion is a heavy burden. But we embraced the challenge and have been, and will continue to be, steadfast in our effort.
As we launch our first joint venture, we are creating a development program of unprecedented potential.
