In a side event at COP26 in Glasgow, a group of prominent energy and environmental NGOs, industry, and trade organizations discussed the role of advanced nuclear energy in a decarbonized world. The organizations included ClearPath, Third Way, Terra Praxis, Clean Air Task Force, Nuclear Innovation Alliance, U.S. Nuclear Industry Council, Ultra-Safe Nuclear Corporation, and Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP. Kirsty Gogan represented Terra Praxis. Watch the video.

Bryden Wood has revealed plans to repurpose the world’s coal-fired power stations to house modular nuclear reactors as part of a ‘major initiative’ to decarbonize the energy sector. The practice's REPOWER proposal has been drawn up with Terra Praxis, a non-profit organization focused on action for climate and energy, which leads the initiative. Unveiled at COP26 this week, the strategy sets out how coal-fired boilers at existing power plants could be replaced with Advanced Heat Sources (Generation IV Advanced Modular Reactors) to deliver a substantial portion of the clean electricity required to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Bryden Wood, which was again recognized in the AJ100 Best Use of Technology category this year, has created, along with Terra Praxis, ‘a platform solution’ making these conversions possible at scale and speed by transforming how projects of this kind are financed, designed, approved and delivered.

Terra Praxis and design consultants Bryden Wood are utilizing modular and standard design to quickly scale low-carbon energy infrastructure. Not-for-profit Terra Praxis’s REPOWER project seeks to repurpose coal plant sites to clean energy plants, maintaining workforce and energy output. The key to the project’s success is its fast and repeatable design, which Bryden Wood has helped develop. Bryden Wood’s standardized, and prefabricated construction approach reduces the cost and time of construction by 40-80%. Their approach speeds up the licencing process by standardizing each plant. They are also working with US and Canadian regulators to fast-track approval which in notoriously long and arduous in nuclear. In short, the modular design methodology can fast track the construction of the low carbon economy.

Bryden Wood (and Terra Praxis) have announced ambitious plans to repurpose the world’s coal fired power stations to accommodate modular nuclear reactors in a bid to decarbonize the global energy sector. Unveiled at COP26, the plan suggests replacing coal fired boilers at existing power plants with Advanced Heat Sources (Generation IV Advanced Modular Reactors) to deliver a substantial portion of the clean electricity required to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Brydon Wood is an international architecture and engineering firm working with Terra Praxis on this “platform solution” that will make this possible at scale and speed by transforming how projects of this kind are financed, designed, approved and delivered.

Bryden Wood está trabajando con Terra Praxis en estrategias para recargar las centrales eléctricas de carbón existentes con fuentes de calor avanzadas (como pequeños reactores modulares). Esto permitirá que la infraestructura existente continúe suministrando energía confiable, pero sin emisiones, y avance un progreso innovador hacia Net Zero para 2050. El Reino Unido está analizando un ambicioso plan para rediseñar las centrales eléctricas de carbón del mundo para reactores nucleares modulares. La instalación de fuentes de calor avanzadas para reemplazar las calderas de carbón en las plantas de carbón existentes permitirá el uso continuo de la infraestructura existente para producir energía continua libre de emisiones.

Terra Praxis engaged Bryden Wood to work on the ‘Repurposing Coal’ initiative, just launched at COP26. The initiative aims to replace coal-fired boilers at existing power plants with advanced heat sources (generation IV advanced modular reactors) to deliver a substantial portion of the clean electricity required to achieve net zero by 2050. Terra Praxis is working with Bryden Wood, MIT, University at Buffalo, Microsoft, and others to standardize and optimize the following key elements: all processes including procurement, investment and approval; building and engineering systems; design, manufacture, assembly and operation; and interactions between different supply chain organizations to enable greater collaboration.

Terra Praxis hosted this high-level event in parallel with the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26)—Energy Day at Climate Action Solution Centre (CASC): De-Risking the Terawatt Transition. During the full-day event, key stakeholders revealed new near-term climate-scale strategies to compete on price and performance with fossil fuels that will break through the world’s largest and most difficult carbon emissions challenges: coal, and liquid fuels. Customers, investors and political leaders announced strategies to accelerate the affordable repowering of 2TW of coal and delivery of 100 million barrels/day of carbon-neutral liquid fuels. These large-scale solutions will repurpose trillions of dollars of existing infrastructure to continue supplying reliable energy, without emissions, and can advance groundbreaking progress toward Net Zero by 2050. The sessions were videotaped and can be viewed at the link below.

Terra Praxis joins a broad, diverse group of 40 international organizations to encourage the delegates of COP26 to deliver more urgent action on climate change. We all have different missions and areas of focus but we are united in the belief that COP26 is a seminal moment and we have come together with a shared message to delegates – there is no time to waste, please work together for the future of humanity. The campaign has been collaboratively and collectively developed by the organizations involved, in conjunction with Quadrature Climate Foundation.

As part of the VISIONS 2100 Project, published at COP26 in Glasgow, this book tells of the power of Visions and invites the reader to create and share their own vision of a better world. Only by starting conversations of the future will we manage to build the world that we really want. These are stories from some of the world’s leading environmental thinkers and influencers. It includes those leading the process of making global agreements on climate change and those working on leading technology solutions. These are the people who are shaping your future world. Their visions tell what they want to see in the future. They are passionate about achieving the world of their vision. Kirsty Gogan and Eric Ingersoll of Terra Praxis were among these leading environmental thinkers who contributed to Stories from 2030. Kirsty Gogan of Terra Praxis along with other contributors to 'Stories from 2030' joined the launch event at the Asia House in London.

Glasgow — “This is a welcome start. But it won’t stop the climate from heating more than 1.5 degrees and devastating large parts of the world, including the Maldives. And so, clearly, this isn't nearly enough. It is also becoming the case that even if you want to sell coal no one wants to buy it anymore. G20 countries need to look at decommissioning coal plants at home and repowering their coal fleet infrastructure with clean energy.” Former President Nasheed participated at the Terra Praxis Energy Day summit running in parallel to COP26. Watch video of each speaker and the entire Terra Praxis Energy Day summit event.

Mohamed Nasheed, a former president of the Maldives who once held an underwater cabinet meeting to highlight the threat to the Indian Ocean nation, said the coal commitments were not nearly enough. "This is a welcome start. But it won’t stop the climate from heating more than 1.5°C and devastating large parts of the world," he said, "G20 countries need to look at decommissioning coal plants at home and repowering their coal fleet infrastructure with clean energy." (Note former Prime Minister Nasheed participated in Terra Praxis' full-day event on De-risking the Terawatt Transition at COP26.)

Mohamed Nasheed, former prime minister of the Maldives who now leads a group of countries called the Climate Vulnerable Forum, singled out the G20’s failure to be more ambitious about phasing out coal. “This is a welcome start,” Mr. Nasheed said in an emailed statement, “But it won’t stop the climate from heating more than 1.5 degrees and devastating large parts of the world, including the Maldives. G20 countries need to look at decommissioning coal plants at home and repowering their coal fleet infrastructure with clean energy.” (Note former Prime Minister Nasheed participated in Terra Praxis' full-day event on De-risking the Terawatt Transition at COP26.)

The Institution of Mechanical Engineers organized a two-day conference to highlight the central role of engineering in delivering a Net-Zero future. The conference focused on practical engineering solutions to achieve net-zero emissions and consider the wider implications for industry and society. Kirsty Gogan of Terra Praxis gave the keynote talk: Setting the scene – The role of science and engineering in the energy transition.

At the the GreenBiz Group's Verge21 Conference: What is next-gen nuclear, and how could it fit into decarbonization?—Kirsty Gogan, Founder & Managing Partner of Terra Praxis, and Isabelle Boemeke, Fashion Model & Nuclear Energy Influencer aka Isodope, joined Sarah Golden, Senior Energy Analyst & VERGE Energy Chair at GreenBiz Group, and spoke about advanced nuclear technology and answered participants' questions.

The SREI Foundation hosted "India Celebrates World Values Day" with a special session on "Reconnecting with Nature," which included an introduction by Dr Rahul Varma and talks by Dr H. P. Kanoria, Matthew Pye, Kirsty Gogan, and Satish Kumar. Kirsty Gogan of Terra Praxis spoke about how energy access is a feminist issue. This session also introduced Paul Palmarozza's book, Cultural Cycles & Climate Change.

Eamon Dunphy interviews Kirsty Gogan in advance of the UN Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (COP26). Addressing complex questions analyzing the climate crisis and where we are, Kirsty said: "It's like a perfect storm right now" and "This isn't really an environmental issue, it's really about risks, it's really about resilience, it's really about the fact that our kids are going to go off to a much less secure world."

Reducing industrial carbon emissions is one of the most difficult challenges on the path to net zero by 2050, due to the magnitude of greenhouse gas emissions from the industrial sector and technical requirements for heat in addition to power. High-temperature reactors (HTRs) are promising Generation IV nuclear technologies that can supply process heat for a variety of industrial applications. This virtual workshop explored the opportunities and challenges associated with HTRs for industrial heat applications, providing a forum for experts from the public and private sectors to exchange views on the technological and economic features of HTRs focusing on priorities from the end-user's point of view, as collected in advance by the NEA. It also addressed the potential contribution of HTRs towards national and global decarbonization targets while encouraging discussion about the conditions necessary to promote and enable deployment of HTRs for industrial heat applications. Kirsty Gogan, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Terra Praxis, participated on the panel "National strategies and global perspectives."

Kirsty Gogan joined the conversation at the Energy Intelligence Forum 2021 at the Event titled: Can nuclear find a place in the energy transition? Nuclear energy provides low-carbon baseload power but worries about safety and high costs have kept it on the sidelines of the energy transition. Does nuclear have a greater place in a net-zero world? Can old reactors stay in the running? Will new designs get off the ground? Panelists included: Kirsty Gogan – Terra Praxis; Amory Lovins – Stanford University; Alison Silverstein – Independent Consultant; Phil Chaffee – Energy Intelligence. Watch session on demand (for registered users).

Terra Praxis participated in the session which featured: Felix Chow-Kambitsch of Urenco, Aubrey Allegretti of The Guardian, Kirsty Gogan of Terra Praxis, and MP Chris Skidmore. Kirsty Gogan presented the key findings of the report Decarbonazing Hydrogen in a Net Zero Economy, commissioned by Urenco and initiated by Aurora Energy Research, which investigates the benefits of deploying renewables together with nuclear energy to support decarbonization and reduce reliance on fossil fuels as a transitional fuel source in Great Britain. Note: Terra Praxis does not support any political party.

Reuters cites a new study by Aurora Energy Research, Decarbonizing Hydrogen in a Net Zero Economy. Hydrogen is increasingly seen as an essential fuel to power a future, carbon-free economy. Nuclear power operators can mitigate high costs by fitting plants to produce hydrogen, and studies have found that the cheapest option for the growing hydrogen economy is to include nuclear in the energy mix. The study was commissioned by Urenco and has been supported by the International Atomic Energy Agency, EDF, and LucidCatalyst.

Eric Ingersoll and Kirsty Gogan, Co-Founders of Terra Praxis, joined the panel on Big Ideas: is repowering coal the largest carbon abatement opportunity in the world? At the start of 2020 we argued that urgent actions, unusual strategies and unexpected allies would need to be a feature of the 2020’s, if we are to get on track to meet decarbonization goals. We have been looking for such ever since and believe we have found a big idea to bring to everyone’s attention. The live program was kicked off with a sneak preview of this idea with others.

The Spanish Young Generation Network hosted the 2021 annual event in cooperation with the IAEA in Tarragona, Spain. This session addressed the essential contribution of nuclear in the way of decarbonizing energy uses — from the mathematical methods used to determine the system costs of different transition strategies to the disruptive innovations and applications of nuclear reactors boosting the affordability of higher re-share mixes — and about commitments of public and private institutions promoting the role of nuclear around the world. This session brought some of the most relevant experts in the forward-looking analysis of nuclear energy in the energy transition, including: Vladimir Usanov: Chief Scientist, Institute for Physics and Power Engineering (IPPE), Rosatom; Kirsty Gogan: Managing Partner of Terra Praxis; and Henri Paillere: Head Planning and Economic Studies Section at IAEA.

To facilitate rapid decarbonization and cut dependency on fossil fuels, both nuclear energy and renewables are needed for power and hydrogen production, a new independent study has concluded. The study, by Aurora Energy Research, investigates the benefits of deploying both nuclear and renewables for hydrogen production, to support the energy transition and meet UK climate targets. The report, Decarbonising Hydrogen in a Net Zero Economy, was commissioned by Urenco and has been supported by the International Atomic Energy Agency, EDF, and LucidCatalyst.

The maritime sector faces increasing pressure from global organizations and consumers to reduce its carbon footprint. This workshop addressed the decarbonization of marine shipping, focusing on the role of zero-carbon fuels (ZCFs), the role of nuclear energy in producing those fuels, and the challenges and opportunities likely to be encountered on the path to a low-carbon shipping industry. Kirsty Gogan and Eric Ingersoll of Terra Praxis participated.

Kirsty Gogan is featured in the cover story of Nuclear Future about how the nuclear industry can help deliver Net Zero. “By incorporating these strategies we could dramatically change our prospects. Once there is better awareness and understanding, the potential will start to mobilise.”

The U.K. has set a target for 5 gigawatts of hydrogen production by 2030, envisioning its use in road transportation, home heating, and ship propulsion. EDF currently runs 27 plants in the U.K. and France, and is building two more; Sizewell C would be its 30th. “The nuclear industry does need to broaden its ambition and recognize the value of these opportunities,” said Kirsty Gogan, member of a government nuclear advisory board [and co-founder of Terra Praxis]. “We have started to see this happening.”

If America wants to fight climate change or enjoy the modern economy it must get better at building electricity transmission. In the past decade, the US has struggled to build new transmission lines linking different regions of the country, even though such lines are essential to basically any vision of the future national economy. In 2011, President Obama attempted to accelerate the completion of 7 major new transmission lines. Only 2 were finished. Since 2009, China has built more than 18,000 miles of ultra high-voltage transmission lines. The U.S. has built zero. The U.S. must triple its transmission infrastructure in order to decarbonize by 2050. We wanted to share this informative article; it does not mention Terra Praxis.

In this compelling and optimistic discussion, two formidable nuclear energy experts Kirsty Gogan and Dr. Rita Baranwal (former Assistant Secretary for the Office of Nuclear Energy in the U.S. Department of Energy, and now VP of nuclear at the Electric Power Research Institute) explain why nuclear is so often left out of the conversation and, more importantly, why we have no choice but to include it in the mix of transition fuels to get us to a net-zero future. They talk about energy access, decarbonization challenges, and being trailblazers in the industry. Visit site, watch the video, or listen to the podcast.

Diverse, scalable and low-cost applications for nuclear technologies have for first time been fully represented across whole energy system. "To enable the deep decarbonization that is required to meet net zero, it is clear that we need to completely and utterly transform the totality of our energy system." "Our analysis shows how nuclear can help to minimize the overall physical footprint of the energy system and contribute to achieving net zero at least cost to society."

TerraPower hopes to apply for a construction permit in August 2023 and an operating license in March 2026 for its Natrium fast reactor.

We wanted to share this informative article; it does not mention Terra Praxis, however, our team has worked closely with TerraPower.