| OPEN100 | |
| Type: | Open-source blueprints for nuclear power plant construction |
| Owner: | Energy Impact Center |
| Founder: | Bret Kugelmass |
| Current Status: | Active |
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.
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]