OPEN100 is a project that claims to provide open-source blueprints to build nuclear power plants. Its stated goal is to reduce the cost and duration of nuclear reactor construction and increase the nuclear power supply 100-fold by 2040 to aid in the decarbonization of the global economy. It was developed by Bret Kugelmass and the Energy Impact Center, a non-profit organization founded by Kugelmass that advocates for clean energy solutions to climate change.
Overview
OPEN100 was first announced in February 2020 by Bret Kugelmass and the Energy Impact Center (EIC).[1] Open-source blueprints for the construction of a nuclear power plant were uploaded to the project's website soon after the announcement.[2] Those blueprints contained designs for a power plant with a 100-megawatt pressurized water reactor.[3] The OPEN100 plans aim to standardize nuclear power plant construction to increase speed and cost-effectiveness, allowing plants to be built in under two years for a cost of $300 million.[4] New plant construction would likely face regulatory hurdles in practice, however.[3]
The EIC developed the plan in collaboration with the United States Department of Energy national laboratories and other entities[5] to help increase nuclear power capacity 100-fold by 2040[1] in an effort to curb and reverse the effects of climate change.[6] In July 2021, it was announced that Transcorp Energy in Nigeria would begin implementing the OPEN100 model to build the country's first nuclear power plants.[7]
