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Input: It was nuclear power's birthday bash  but  Exelon CEO Chris Crane  head of the nation's largest nuclear operator   named energy storage the most promising technology of the future  one that could render nuclear power unnecessary.
"In our view the long-term viable technology that will drive a cleaner future is economic storage  " Crane  said at "Reactions: New Perspectives on Our Nuclear Legacy " the University of Chicago's commemoration of the first manmade nuclear reaction 75 years ago under the stands of its abandoned football stadium.
 Crane 's comments departed from those of former Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz  who  delivering the event's closing keynote  insisted the United States must continue to pursue nuclear energy for reasons of both climate and national security.
 Crane   who was Exelon's chief nuclear officer before  he  became CEO  still defended  his  company's 24 existing nuclear plants  because  he  contends energy storage hasn't arrived yet.
Even though the cost of lithium-ion batteries has dropped precipitously and promises to continue to do so   Crane  contends storage hasn't arrived because lithium-ion does not provide all the features the energy market needs.
"Storage is becoming much more economic  but those are one-hour and four-hour discharges  and they only have a life cycle of so long "  he  said. "We need days of discharges."
So  Crane  is betting on whatever the national labs develop for next-generation energy storage.
"What we need to do is continue with the labs and continue the research that's going on: what is life beyond lithium ion  what is the storage mechanism that we can harness more renewable energy in that form?"  he  said. In the meantime  existing nuclear plants should be kept open  with license renewals and fairer financial terms   he  said  but with the understanding that they are "transition assets."
Both  Crane  and Moniz concede new nuclear plants are unlikely to be built  at least new nuclear plants that resemble the ones Exelon operates today.
Moniz and Crane both also expressed uncertainty about the prospects of the likely form that innovation will take: small modular reactors.
"I don't know if all of this will come together to give an effective  attractive source  but we're never going to find out if we don't get there " Moniz said. "It's the kind of thing that we've got to find out if that dog hunts. Is it going to perform economically? It's got great safety characteristics. There are reasons to be optimistic from the point of view that if you have a much smaller plant you don't have the capital at risk. You may get better financing. "
Crane  pitted small modular reactors against energy storage:
Then  moments later   Crane  complained about just that kind of comparison:
"We're sitting here debating what is the best technology versus debating what is the best outcome  and the best outcome around those economics. And it's distractive conversation that we've all been pushed into  " Crane  said. "We need to come up with what is the outcome that we want and then how do we get there."

Battery Storage Steals The Spotlight At Nuclear Power's Birthday Party