eVinci is a 5MWe (not 50) and operates at full power for 8 years.
eVinci⢠Microreactor | Westinghouse Nuclear
The animations are wishful thinking. The reactor building of all nuclear power plants is required to be designed to withstand a direct impact of the largest commercial jet fully loaded and fully fueled. Designed for worse case ground motion, terrorist attack, etc. etc.
While this reactor has only 19.75% enriched fuel, that is significantly higher than in traditional PWR and BWR units. Moving spent fuel will be a terrorist nightmare.
The cost of $80M is also wishful thinking when you add the cost of security, power distribution, and other infrastructure. Additionally, one of the main drivers of cost has been the cost of money, and once the intervenors (anti-nukes) discovered they could limit/kill nuclear power by dragging out construction for year$ costing billions, they'd find a sympathetic judge and keep litigating the same things at every site over and over. When ANO Unit 1 was built it took 6 years and less than $1B. Contrast that with Midland Nuclear plant that was to have cost <1$B but intervenors dragged construction out. The plant was 85% complete, 13 years behind schedule and over 20 times the original cost estimate when in 1984 Consumers Power canceled the project!! Compare that to Consumers Power sister plant Palisades that was completed in just 4.5 years at a total cost on $630M. IMO, nuclear will be heavily limited until the regulatory situation limits intervenors and requires surety bonds WHEN the intervenors lose in court, which they mostly do lose!