What is more, Dr Filippone's results suggest that the spent fuel rods will continue to generate energy for 10-14 years.

ECONOMIST: Nuclear power

But Dr Filippone's response is that there are huge numbers of spent fuel rods sitting around awaiting disposal in nuclear plants all over the world some 80, 000 tonnes in the United States alone and that it makes sense to extract as much energy from them as possible.

ECONOMIST: Nuclear power