I can guarantee that they were never even mentioned in Naval nuclear power schools in 1982. I noticed in reading about it tests were conducted by the Department of Energy in 1984. The concept sounds brilliant. The results even better . Thanks for bringing it to my attention!
This is the way....
Based on studies of the Integral Fast Reactor (IFR) concept developed at Argonne National Laboratory, here are the estimated figures for a scaled-up, 1 GWe (1,000 megawatt-electric) plant:
Initial Fuel Mass (Total): Approximately 90 tonnes (including core and blankets).Plutonium (Pu) in Initial Core: Roughly 10–15 tonnes of plutonium (or other transuranics) are required in the core for a 1 GWe metal-fuelled fast reactor to achieve criticality and operate.
Fission Products Produced Per Year: Approximately 1 tonne of fission product waste per year of operation.
Key Considerations:
Fission Product Waste: While a 1 GWe light-water reactor (LWR) produces ~22 tons of spent fuel (including uranium), the 1 GWe IFR produces ~1 ton of actual fission products (high-level waste) per year because it recycles its unused fuel.
Fuel Cycle: The IFR utilizes pyroprocessing to recycle actinide fuel on-site, meaning only fission products and a tiny amount of transuranic waste are removed from the cycle.
That single metric tonne must be replaced with uranium it doesn’t matter if it’s U238 or natural uranium with 0.7% U235 it’s all fertile and fissile in the fast spectrum every single gram at the E=MC^2 level this is humanities greatest achievement. A machine that unlocks E=MC^2 AND makes more fuel in the process at a ratio of 30-40% in excess of what was converted to high energy photons and particles.
Each IFR every 18months outputs 30% MORE Pu then went in the first place in 4 fuel cycles you have now a second IFR worth and four more cycles you have 2+2 worth. 1 becomes 2 becomes 4,becomes 8 THIS IS HOW YOU SCALE TO species level 5000 Exajoules.
We have 700,000+ tonnes of depleted U238 sitting waiting to be turned into energy and 80,000 tonnes of spent fuel that holds 700 tonnes of Pu enough for 70 gigawatt scale IFRs which will span 140 more, then 280 in the first 12 fuel cycles.
Based on total U.S. light-duty vehicle miles and Tesla Model 3 efficiency, powering all light vehicle travel with Tesla Model 3s would require approximately 100 to 150 1-GWe (Gigawatt-electric) nuclear power plants.
The BreakdownTotal Light Vehicle Miles: As of early 2026, Americans drive over 3.2 trillion miles annually.
Model 3 Efficiency: Real-world usage indicates an average efficiency of roughly 4 miles per kWh (or 250 Wh/mile).Total
Electricity Needed: 3.2 trillion miles \ 4 miles/kWh = 800 billion kWh (or 800 TWh) per year.
Nuclear Plant Output: A typical 1-GWe nuclear plant running at 90% capacity produces roughly 7.88 billion kWh
The first spawn of the IFR daughter reactors covers all light vehicle miles in the USA. Even using Cyber trucks it’s 320 wh / mile and the total inefficient truck bro grocery getter that never does truck things Ford F-150 Lightning typically consumes between 400 and 600 watt-hours per mile (Wh/mi), or roughly 1.8 to 3.4 miles per kWh (mi/kWh).
The F ing Tesla Semi at 82,000lbs only needs 1.7kWh per mile.
Yeah
Based on recent data, replacing all US combination truck (tractor-trailer) shipping with Tesla Semis at 1.7 kWh per mile would require approximately 43 to 45 1-Gigawatt electric (GWe) nuclear reactors to power the entire fleet, assuming they operate continuously.
1. Total Annual Mileage (Combination Trucks)Total Miles: Combination trucks (the “shipping” fleet) traveled approximately 195.76 billion miles in 2023.
Total Annual Energy: (195.76 \ billion miles x 1.7 kWh/mile = 332.79billion kWh) (or 332.79 Terawatt-hours/TWh) per year.
But but long haul semi bros and charges times. Irrelevant look at the real world data.
It’s in their minds less than 7% of all freight moves more than 1000 miles. 87% is under 250 and the Tesla Semi does that with ease today.
How long to charge....
“The Tesla Semi Megacharger charges the Tesla Semi at a rate of 1.2 megawatts (1,200 kW), enabling the truck to replenish up to 60–70% of its battery range in just 30 minutes. This allows for roughly 300 miles of added range in half an hour, primarily using the Megawatt Charging System (MCS) standard”
Most states mandatory rest breaks are longer than this.
The vast majority of trucking by tonnage moved is regional and under 500 miles per day.
Yeah the numbers.
Breakdown of Truck Tonnage by Distance (2024–2025)
Recent data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) and the Department of Energy highlights a strong concentration of freight in short-distance brackets:
Under 100 miles: Approximately 44% of total truck tonnage.
100 to 249 miles: Approximately 43% of total truck tonnage.
Total Regional (Under 250 miles): Roughly 87% of all U.S. truck freight tonnage moves within this range.
Long-Haul (1,000+ miles): Only about 6.4% of total freight weight travels 1,000 miles or more
Fun fact is a 1GWe reactor needs 1.5-2 billion cubic meters of seawater for condenser cooling while rejecting 2000 megawatt hours of waste heat per hour of operation.
This is enough heat to desal 130,000,000 gallons per day using rapid spray evaporation desalination.
2*10^9(m^3) of seawater holds 6,600kg of uranium in it.
The Chinese have a electrode that grabbed 100% from the south China Sea in testing and the cost was $83 / kg for the yellow cake you could see it in the carbon fiber membrane it was so caked pun intended up.
6,600kg of uranium in a fast IFR type reactor is 541,200terajoules worth of energy.
At 33% thermal to electricity it’s 49,500,000 kWh or 5.56 gigawatt years electric.
In other words the seawater coolant is carrying 5.56 times the electrical output in uranium mass flows. You can fuel 5 GWe of reactors of a single GWe coolant flows.
This only holds for fast spectrum reactors if you can only use the 0.7% U235 isotope then you need 150 plus tonnes per year of uranium so you can strip out that tiny fraction and enrich it to 4.5% U235 it’s criminal to do this when we have fast reactor tech ready to use.