A.K.A. nuclear batteries.

Hyperion Power Generation, a startup based in Santa Fe, N.M., is working on a self-contained compact nuclear power reactor unit that it says is “about the size of a typical backyard hot tub” . . .

Because the device is small, portable and self-contained, the company says it can be delivered where it is needed and then sent back to the factory for refueling every five years. That makes it a good fit for remote, rural locations that are disconnected from the power grid.

The technology can also bring down the cost of nuclear power significantly, says the company — a 30 percent reduction over traditional nuclear in capital costs and a 50 percent reduction in operating costs.

It's good to see some nuclear progress. Toshiba's talk about nuclear batteries two or three years ago was interesting, but seeing VC money go to new ventures is more so.

Hyperion says the device’s self-contained and portable design also makes it safer. Because it isn’t meant to be opened until it’s sent back to the factory, it could cut down on human error. And because it is designed to be buried at the generation site, there could be less potential for tampering with it.

The heavily advertized fear of nuclear reactors and materials has never made sense to me. It isn't as if there are not softer and more dangerous targets for evil doers. It's just an aspect of boomer neurosis, another bit of foolishness from the foolish generation.

For a hot-tub-sized device, it can also deliver a nuke-sized amount of power: 70 megawatts (MW) of heat and 25 megawatts (MW) of electrical power via steam turbine. It you link the devices together you can produce a whole lot more, the company says.

Portable, scalable, distributed, reliable and available as well as cheap to own and operate. Other types of non-carbon power don't compare well.

With the growing fears over climate change and the rising cost of power, nuclear is starting to re-emerge as a clean energy option. Toshiba reportedly has a compact modular nuclear technology in the works as well. Most of the presidential candidates are touting nuclear as a promising option, and government funding has started to head that way. So has the private sector: Last month, power company NRG Energy announced the creation of Nuclear Innovation North America, a subsidiary that will develop and invest in nuclear projects, and it launched the new company with a $300 million investment from Toshiba.

Hyperion’s basically making use of mass production technology for nuclear. The company says it will deliver 4,000 units when it brings the product to market in the next few years. One question: Are we really ready to mass produce nuclear devices?

Opposition to nuclear power by paleo-environmentalists was one of their greatest blunders. The technologies would otherwise be much more advanced. The worries about climate change that are helping to overcome the nuclear taboo might never have come up without the taboo. The greatest threat to the environment has always been environmentalists.