Fuel Cells

Nuclear Reactors produce energy by capturing the energy and heat produced by decaying Uranium. For safety and portability (not really), that Uranium is contained within Fuel Cells.

The exact mechanics of how Fuel Cells behave within Nuclear Reactors is explained on that page; this page will be focused on the statistics of specific Fuel Cell variants.

In the past, there were only three types of Fuel Cells: Single, Dual, and Quad Uranium Cells. IC2 Classic adds five more types of Uranium Cells. Each of these other Cell variants can be obtained by combining a Uranium Ingot with some form of additive, in a Uranium Enricher.

Single Fuel Cells

• Uranium Cell - The basic cell that started it all. Produces 5 EU and 4 heat per tick. Lasts 10,000 seconds (2 hours, 46 minutes).
• Redstone Enriched Uranium Cell - More powerful, more efficient, but shorter lived. Produces 10 EU and 6 heat per tick. Lasts 8,000 seconds (2 hours, 13 minutes). Releases 2 neutrons per tick.
• Blaze Enriched Uranium Cell - Hot. Very hot. Throw this one in a Steam Reactor. Produces 5 EU and 16 heat per tick. Lasts 10,000 seconds (2 hours, 46 minutes).
• EnderPearl Enriched Uranium Cell - Rather special among Cells. Most Cells only interact with the 4 other items directly adjacent to them. EnderPearl Enriched Uranium Cells interact with all 8 items around them. This includes Neutron Reflectors, allowing EnderPearl Enriched Uranium Cells to reach a rated efficiency of 11. However, this comes at the cost of the Cells' lifespans. Produces 5 EU and 4 heat per tick. Lasts 5,000 seconds (1 hour, 23 minutes).
• NetherStar Enriched Uranium Cell - Best stats all-around, if you can handle the heat. Produces 50 EU and 14 heat per tick. Lasts 20,000 seconds (5 hours, 33 minutes). Releases 2 neutrons per tick.
• Charcoal Enriched Uranium Cell - Slow it down a little. Produces 3 EU and 4 heat per tick. Lasts 15,000 seconds (4 hours, 10 minutes).

Dual Fuel Cells

Dual Fuel Cells are crafted with two single Fuel Cells and a Dense Copper Plate. They function as a 2x1 pair of single cells, collapsed into one space. They release double the normal number of neutrons per tick, along with 6x the heat and 4x the EU. Fuel Cell lifespans are unaffected. Redstone and NetherStar Enriched Cells emit roughly 6.66x and 6.85x heat, as they release more neutrons at a time than normal.

• Dual Uranium Cell - 20 EU/t, 24 heat/tick, releases 2 neutrons
• Redstone Enriched - 40 EU/t, 40 heat/tick, releases 4 neutrons
• Blaze Enriched - 20 EU/t, 96 heat/tick, releases 2 neutrons
• EnderPearl Enriched - 20 EU/t, 24 heat/tick, releases 2 neutrons
• NetherStar Enriched - 200 EU/t, 96 heat/tick, releases 4 neutrons
• Charcoal Enriched - 12 EU/t, 24 heat/tick, releases 2 neutrons

Quad Fuel Cells

Quad Fuel Cells are crafted with either two Dual Cells and three Dense Copper Plates, or four single Cells and five Dense Copper Plates. Quad Fuel Cells behave as a 2x2 square of single cells, collapsed into 1 space. This means that they emit 12x the EU, 24x the heat, and 4x the neutrons. Redstone and NetherStar Enriched Cells emit 28x and 28.5x heat.

• Quad Uranium Cell - 60 EU/t, 96 heat/tick, 4 neutrons
• Redstone Enriched - 120 EU/t, 168 heat/tick, 8 neutrons
• Blaze Enriched - 60 EU/t, 384 heat/tick, 4 neutrons
• EnderPearl Enriched - 60 EU/t, 96 heat/tick, 4 neutrons
• NetherStar Enriched - 600 EU/t, 400 heat/tick, 8 neutrons
• Charcoal Enriched - 48 EU/t, 96 heat/tick, releases 4 neutrons

Internal Pulses

Fuel Cells have a statistic, 'Internal Pulses'. This statistic refers to the number of times an individual combined cell pulses each time a single cell would pulse. For most single Cells this is 1, for most Dual and Quad Cells, this is 2 and 4 respectively. However, for Redstone and NetherStar-Enriched Cells, this statistic is 2 (4 and 8 in Dual and Quad Cells). So in effect, a Redstone or NetherStar Enriched single Cell interacts with its surroundings as if it was a Dual Cell. This can make Redstone Enriched Uranium Cells extremely effective in Breeder Reactors, if handled correctly. However, it also makes handling such cells much more difficult; the double neutron pulses also results in much more heat than normal. Fortunately, Speiger chose to show mercy to those cells, and reduce their effective heat output considerably. They still produce notably more heat than cells which only pulse once, but their heat output is at least manageable. The additional pulses also mean that the Planner-calculated theoretical maximum efficiency of a Redstone or NetherStar-fueled reactor is 14, rather than 7. However, this is a bit of a misnomer, as the cells start with an efficiency of 2; so their maximum efficiency is still 7x their base efficiency.