Reactor Types
Light water, gas-cooled, liquid-metal, molten-salt, SMRs and microreactors.
Core concepts
Light-water reactors (PWR & BWR)
Settled scienceThe dependable workhorse of the global fleet and one of the safest, most reliable ways humans make electricity — which is why it's the trusted baseline every new design builds on.
Small modular reactors (SMRs)
ContestedFactory-built reactors that could make nuclear cheaper, faster, and easier to finance by trading economies of scale for mass production. Promising and advancing fast, though the cost advantage is still being proven.
Molten-salt reactors & the thorium/LFTR concept
Opinion / advocacyA genuinely exciting concept: low-pressure reactors with strong inherent safety and an abundant thorium fuel option, proven at lab scale at Oak Ridge and now being revived commercially.
Microreactors & military reactors
ContestedTiny, transportable reactors that can bring clean, reliable power where the grid can't reach — one of the fastest-moving frontiers in energy, propelled by defense and data-center demand.
Where advanced reactors actually stand
ContestedA current, honest scorecard of the leading advanced-reactor programs — what's funded, what's under construction, and what's still on the drawing board — as of 2025.
Most substantial articles
Common misconceptions
Myth: All reactors are basically the same.
Reality: Coolant and moderator choices create very different families — water, gas, liquid metal, molten salt.
Myth: Advanced reactors are science fiction.
Reality: Several are licensed or under construction; the open question is cost, not feasibility.
From Nucleation Capital
Source: Nucleation Capital✓ Active recall
1. What makes a reactor a 'small modular reactor'?
2. What is the commercial status of molten-salt/thorium (LFTR) reactors?