60 years ago, nuclear energy was touted as a power source that would deliver electricity at prices “too cheap to meter.” Experience with large-scale nuclear generation to date has shown that large commercial nuclear power plants do not produce electricity cheaply; however, the new imperative to reduce carbon dioxide emissions has given nuclear new incentive to develop.  New, fourth-generation reactors are significantly safer, and cheaper to build and operate when compared to current designs. The new reactors are smaller, and their operating economics open the possibility for private power users to adopt the technology for industrial use, producing electricity and process heat.  Dow and X-energy Reactor Company recently announced that the company will deploy one of X-energy’s small modular reactors at Dow’s Gulf Coast chemical plant complex. The reactor will provide electric power and process heat for steam. If successful, the initiative will not only reduced Dow’s carbon footprint, but also set the stage for widespread commercial cogeneration outside of power utilities. * * * Want to watch this podcast as a video? This Week in Engineering is available on engineering.com TV along with all of our other shows such as End of the Line, Designing the Future, Manufacturing the Future, and the Engineering Roundtable.