Turning carbon dioxide into liquid fuel. Scientists have discovered a new electrocatalyst that converts carbon dioxide (CO2) and water into ethanol with very high energy efficiency, high selectivity for the desired final product and low cost.

[u/Wagamaga]

https://www.anl.gov/article/turning-carbon-dioxide-into-liquid-fuel

[u/Bendetto4]

The 50s called, they want their nuclear salesman pitch back. Nuclear had its chance in the 50s, with a massive government subsidy behind it for military reasons, and a clean image in the eyes of the public: nuclear was the future, and the future was nuclear. Reality was different. Nuclear had its chance, it blew it, next candidate please.

Please refer to the previous "trillions of dollars of lobbying from fossil fuel companies". Thats why nuclear failed. It's an undisputed fact.

no nuclear plant has ever been built without state support.

No nuclear plant has ever been built without state interference.

We have different opinions and thats fine.

[u/audion00ba → u/Bendetto4]

Why doesn't an open-source nuclear facility design exist?

You can download a Linux kernel with source code and documentation for free, but why can't we download nuclear facility designs with maintenance plans for free (which I guess is what makes them expensive)?

If the answer is "because we need to make a buck", perhaps that's the reason why people hate nuclear.

I don't hate nuclear, but if only a small number of people really get what's going on, it's sort of a problem. For example, the details of nuclear decommissioning are even more vague. IIRC, nuclear companies often just leave the government to pay for their cleanup (when the companies fail).

[u/silverionmox → u/audion00ba]

Why doesn't an open-source nuclear facility design not exist?

Because it's a huge security liability, and there are always local adaptations that need to be made for local conditions.

For example, the details of nuclear decommissioning are even more vague. IIRC, nuclear companies often just leave the government to pay for their cleanup (when the companies fail).

Exactly. And most of those costs happen after the profit, so the company can always declare bankrupcy and then who'll pay?

[u/audion00ba → u/silverionmox]

Because it's a huge security liability, and there are always local adaptations that need to be made for local conditions.

One could easily build a program that generates nuclear facility designs with parameterized randomized layouts. So, that's hardly an argument.

Exactly. And most of those costs happen after the profit, so the company can always declare bankrupcy and then who'll pay?

I said that literally already. I think it would be possible for the private sector to do nuclear, but it would have to be managed a lot better by governments.

Without a life cycle plan, I don't see the point of it. The same holds for any other energy type, btw. Decommissioning solar panels, for example or oil rigs or gas piping or ... It's like nobody has heard of "life cycle management", but I guess it comes down to the same answer as always: humanity is either stupid of evil.

[u/silverionmox → u/audion00ba]

It holds for every waste type, we need better waste management for everything, including electronics.

But nuclear waste has the extra problems that we really don't need to deal with on top of the usual problems.