Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, said it was possible to make "extremely safe" nuclear plants during a conference on cryptocurrency.

"I really think it’s possible to make very, extremely safe nuclear (power plants)," Musk said.

Nuclear power is one of the cheapest and most efficient non-fossil energy sources, but the fear of accidents and attacks, often misplaced, stands in the way of its wide-scale adoption. In the battle against climate change, experts believe that nuclear energy is the best possible way to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, a goal set out in the Paris Agreement.

Unlike other sources of renewable energy apart from hydroelectricity, which has its own geographical constraints, nuclear power is constantly available. While the costs of setting up nuclear power plants are high, the overall cost and fuel efficiency of nuclear power remain extremely good.

Nuclear energy, however, gets a bad reputation due to accidents, association with nuclear weapons, risk of terrorist attacks at nuclear power plants, the proliferation of nuclear waste, waste disposal of nuclear material and the economics of a nuclear fuel-based economy.

Despite fears, modern nuclear power plants are extremely safe. Musk also asserted his faith in the safety of modern engineered nuclear reactors.

"I think modern nuclear power plants are safe contrary to what people may think," Musk said.

"I’m talking about fission. You don’t need fusion," Musk added.

Many scientists have been looking to generate power with nuclear fusion, a form of nuclear reaction where smaller elements combine into heavier ones releasing tremendous amounts of energy without any waste. But nuclear fusion power currently remains out of reach, even as fission reactors have seen tremendous progress in terms of safety, efficiency and waste generation and disposal.

Musk has long been a proponent of nuclear power, supporting the construction of more reactors in the past. However, nuclear power still faces obstruction in the form of political will and public opinion.

“I think that’s a better way to generate energy than certainly a coal power plant or a natural gas power plant,” Musk had said in PBS interview in 2007.

(Edited by : Shoma Bhattacharjee)

First Published:Jul 23, 2021 6:11 PM IST