Annex I

OVERVIEW OF GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT OF ADVANCED NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS

Purpose

Nuclear power has strong potential to play an increasing role in meeting growing energy needs while reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and in providing energy security and price stability while achieving very stringent safety goals.

The IAEA Publication “Basic Principles of Nuclear Energy” [1] describes the rationale and vision for the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and presents the basic principles on which nuclear energy systems should be based to fulfill nuclear energy’s potential to help meet growing global energy needs.  The IAEA Publication “Nuclear Power Objectives” [2] establishes what needs to be achieved to satisfy the Nuclear Energy Basic Principles in the area of Nuclear Power for each of the following topics: Technology Development, Design and Construction of Nuclear Power Plants, Operation of Nuclear Power Plants, Non-Electric Applications, and Research Reactors.  This article summarizes nuclear power's status and potential, and overviews global development of advanced nuclear plants focussing on means for achieving very competitive economics, very high safety levels and proliferation resistance, including non-power applications, and summarizes international initiatives.  This overview shows how the objectives [2] for design and technology development of new plants and their applications are being pursued.

1.  Introduction

By mid-2009, there were 436 nuclear power plants in operation worldwide, with a total capacity of 370.2 GWe. Further, 52 units were under construction. During 2007 nuclear power produced 2608.2 billion kWh of electricity, which was 14.2% of the world's total. Based on information provided by its Member States, the IAEA projects that nuclear power will produce between 2748 and 2794 billion kWh annually by 2010, between 3207 and 3946 billion kWh annually by 2020, and between 3522 and 5551 billion kWh annually by 2030 [3].

2.  Achieving Advanced Plant Development Goals

Various organizations, including design organizations, utilities, universities, national laboratories, and research institutes are involved in advanced nuclear plant development. Global trends in advanced reactor designs and technology are periodically summarized by the IAEA [4-13] to provide balanced and objective information.

The objectives [2] for technology development and design of advanced plants are:

·         Develop technologies to improve the economic competitiveness and investment attractiveness of nuclear power

·         Provide accurate and clear information to all stakeholders on research and development goals and achievements

·         Develop technologies to achieve continued advancements in safety, reduction of adverse environmental impacts and waste generation

·         Develop technologies and design features which strengthen security characteristics of nuclear power plants

·         Develop technologies and design features which strengthen non-proliferation characteristics of nuclear systems

·         Develop  technologies to support sustainability of nuclear power

·         Develop reactor, fuel and core designs to improve the use of fissile material

·         Pursue advances in nuclear power technology building on scientific and technical progress in all relevant technical and scientific areas; and

Establish and enhance international collaboration mechanisms to facilitate the continuous assessment of the status of nuclear science and technology and to co-ordinate future development efforts

Advanced designs comprise two categories: Evolutionary designs achieve improvements over existing designs through small to moderate modifications, with a strong emphasis on maintaining proven design features to minimize technological risks. Their development requires at most engineering and confirmatory testing. Innovative designs incorporate radical changes in design approaches or system configuration in comparison with existing practice. Substantial R&D, feasibility tests, and a prototype or demonstration plant are probably required.

In the near term most new nuclear plants will likely be evolutionary designs often pursuing economies of scale. In the longer term, innovative designs which promise even shorter construction times and lower capital costs could help to promote a new era of nuclear power. Several innovative designs are in the small-to-medium size (SMR) range[1] and could be particularly attractive for the introduction of nuclear power into developing countries and for remote locations.

2.1.  Economic competitiveness

Capital costs for nuclear plants generally account for 45-75% of the total nuclear electricity generation costs, compared to 25-60% for coal plants and 15-40% for gas plants. Nuclear power's advantage is in its low fuel costs, relative to fossil, and especially to gas, fired generating stations. Achieving competitive generation cost targets presents a significant challenge, which design organizations are addressing by incorporating both proven means and new approaches for reducing costs into their advanced designs. Moreover, design organizations are designing plants suitable for various grid capacities and owner investment capabilities, including large sizes for some markets and small and medium sizes for others.

Experience has provided proven means for reducing costs of nuclear projects, [15], as summarized in the following:

• Economies of scale are being pursued in China, France, the Republic of Korea, India, Russia, Japan and the United States for new evolutionary water-cooled reactors.
• Shortening the construction schedule reduces the financing charges that accrue without countervailing revenue. The schedule can be shortened by manufacture of modular systems to reduce on-site and tailor-made construction. Addressing licensing issues before start of construction is also key, as is efficient project management. Recent good experience includes extensive use of integrated design tools (Computer Aided Design and Engineering) that facilitate modularization, improvements in system arrangement and accessibility, and coordination of procurement with construction activities.
• Standardization and construction in series offer savings by spreading fixed costs over several units, and from productivity gains in equipment manufacturing, field engineering, and construction. A detailed account of the lessons from standardized plant design and construction in France is provided in Ref. [16]. Standardization is also leading to cost reduction for Japan's advanced boiling water reactors (ABWRs) the Republic of Korea's Korean Standard Nuclear Plants (KSNPs) and India's pressurized heavy water reactors (PHWRs).
• Closely related is multiple unit construction at a single site. The average cost for identical units on the same site can be about 15% lower than the cost of a single unit, with savings coming mostly in siting and licensing costs, site labour and common facilities. The 58 PWRs in France built as multiple units at 19 sites are good examples.
• In developing countries, furthering self-reliance, and enhancing local participation are goals pursued by governments for policy reasons. Cost savings in materials and construction, training and labour result.

In addition to the above proven means, new approaches for reducing plant costs [15] can also be used as follows:

• Small and medium size reactors have the potential to capture economies of series production if several units are constructed;
   
• Improvement of the technology base for eliminating over-design (i.e. more accurate data bases of thermo-hydraulic relationships and thermo-physical properties, better neutronic and thermo-hydraulic codes, and further code validation), focussing on removing the need to incorporate excessively large margins into the design simply to allow for limitations in the calculational methodologies and uncertainties in the data;
   
• Development of highly reliable "smart" components and systems which are instrumented and monitored for detecting incipient failures - to improve system reliability so that dependence on costly redundancy and diversity practices can be reduced;
   
• Further development of passive safety systems for cases in which the safety function can be met more cheaply than with active systems;
   
• Further development of Probabilistic Safety Analysis (PSA) methods and data bases to support plant simplification and development of risk-informed regulatory requirements for new plants.
   
• Reduction of number of components and materials requiring nuclear grade standards;
   
• Development of systems with higher thermal efficiency and expanded applications (e.g. co-generation of electricity and heat; sea-water desalination); and
   
• Reaching international consensus regarding commonly acceptable safety requirements and standards to facilitate development of standardized designs which can be built in many countries without requiring significant re-design efforts.

2.2.  Achieving very high safety levels

In the latter part of the twentieth century, there have been significant developments in reactor safety technology, including:

• Advances in PSA;
   
• Increased attention to external hazards;
   
• Advances in testing and inspection;
   
• Increased emphasis on the man-machine interface including improved control room design, and plant design for ease of maintenance;
   
• Rapid progress in control and instrumentation - e.g. the introduction of micro-processors into the reactor protection system;
   
• Introduction of rigorous quality assurance programmes; and
   
• Increased emphasis on prevention and mitigation of severe accidents.

While there are differences in safety requirements among countries developing new designs, the requirements are reflected in the IAEA's Safety Standards Series [see for example 17,18] and in publications by the International Nuclear Safety Advisory Group (INSAG) [19,20]. From these documents, a number of safety goals for future plants can be identified:

• A reduction in core damage frequency over plants designed in the 70’s/80’s;
   
• Increased consideration of severe accidents in plant design;
   
• Ensuring that releases to the environment in the event of a severe accident are kept as low as practicable to provide a technical basis for simplification of emergency planning;
   
• Reducing the operator burden during an accident by improved man-machine interface;
   
• The adoption of digital instrumentation and control; and
   
• Development of passive systems for decay heat removal during accidents.

To further reduce the probability of accidents and to mitigate their consequences, designers of new plants are adopting various technical measures. Examples are:

• Increased margins and grace periods by some combination of the use of larger water inventories, lower power densities and larger negative reactivity coefficients;
   
• High reliability by the use of redundant and diverse safety systems with improved physical separation;
   
• Passive cooling and condensing systems; and
   
• Stronger containments large enough to withstand the pressure and temperatures from design basis accidents without fast acting pressure reduction systems, and with support systems to assure containment integrity during severe accidents (for example, to control hydrogen concentrations).

Some new designs rely on well-proven and highly reliable active safety systems to remove decay heat from the primary system and to remove heat from the containment building during accidents. Others incorporate safety systems that rely on passive means using, for example, gravity, natural circulation, and compressed gas as driving forces to transfer heat from the reactor or the containment. Considerable development and testing of passive safety systems has been carried out in several countries. In other designs a coupling of active and passive systems is adopted. For each of these approaches, the main requirement is that safety systems fulfil the necessary functions with appropriate reliability.

2.3.  Proliferation-resistance

The potential linkage between the peaceful use of nuclear energy and the proliferation of nuclear weapons has been a continuing societal concern. To ensure the absence of un-declared nuclear material and activities or diversion of nuclear material for weapons purposes, the current international non-proliferation regime consists of:

• An international institutional framework based on the Non-Proliferation Treaty and comprehensive IAEA safeguards agreements and protocols;
   
• International verification measures (the IAEA Safeguards system plus regional and bilateral agreements) to provide credible assurance of the non-diversion of nuclear material and of the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities;
   
• Export controls on nuclear materials, specified facilities, equipment and other materials, including dual-use technologies; and
   
• National physical protection measures and material accounting and controls measures, including IAEA recommendations on physical protection.

Proliferation resistance is defined [21] as that characteristic of a nuclear energy system that impedes the diversion or undeclared production of nuclear material, or misuse of technology, by States intent on acquiring nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices. The degree of proliferation resistance results from a combination of, inter alia, technical design features, operational modalities, institutional arrangements and safeguards measures.

Intrinsic proliferation resistance features are those features that result from the technical design of nuclear energy systems, including those that facilitate the implementation of extrinsic measures[2]. Extrinsic proliferation resistance measures are those measures that result from States' decisions and undertakings related to nuclear energy systems. Examples of intrinsic features are [21]: the nuclear material's chemical form, radiation field, heat generation, spontaneous neutron generation rate; complexity of, and time required for modifications necessary to use a civilian facility for a weapons production facility; mass and bulk of nuclear material; skills, expertise and knowledge required to divert or produce nuclear material and convert it to weapons useable form; time required to divert or produce nuclear material and convert it to weapons useable form; and design features that limit access to nuclear material.

In recent years the non-proliferation regime has come under increasing strain, and international discussions have emphasized the urgent need to strengthen the regime. Ref 23 presents suggested means to increase non-proliferation assurances while preserving assurances of supply and services through a set of gradually introduced multinational approaches.

3.  Overview of Development of Advanced Plants

3.1.  Light water reactors (LWRs)

LWRs comprise over 80% of the nuclear units worldwide, and this is reflected in the considerable activities to develop advanced LWRs.

3.1.1.  Evolutionary LWRs

China has an extensive nuclear power programme with PWRs, WWERs and HWRs supplied by foreign suppliers in operation. China has also developed and operates its own domestic medium-size PWR designs. Furthermore, the China National Nuclear Corporation is developing the evolutionary China Nuclear Plant (CNP-1000) incorporating experience from the design, construction and operation of the existing plants in China. Two units are in operation (Lingao 1 & 2) and several more units of the CNP-1000 are under construction and planned.

In December 2006, the Westinghouse AP-1000 design was selected for four units to be constructed at China’s Sanmen and Yangjiang sites.  As of August, 2009, construction had started on 3 of these units (see Figures 4 and 5 below). Two EPRs designed by Areva are under construction at Taishan 1&2 in China.

In France and Germany, Areva has designed the European Pressurized Water Reactor (EPR), which meets European utility requirements. The EPR's power level of 1600 MWe has been selected to capture economies of scale relative to the latest series of PWRs operating in France (the N4 series) and Germany (the Konvoi series). The first EPR is presently under construction for  Teollisuuden Voima Oy (TVO) of Finland at the Olkiluoto site. Commercial operation is planned for 2012. Also, Electricite de France is constructing an EPR at Flamanville (Unit 3), with commissioning scheduled for 2012, and is planning to start construction of an EPR at Penly beginning in 2012. Two EPR units are also under construction in China at Taishan, Units 1 and 2. Areva’s U.S. EPR design is currently being reviewed by the U.S. NRC for design certification in the United States.

Areva is also working with Mitsubishi Heavy Industry, Ltd in a joint venture to develop the 1100+ MWe ATMEA-1 Pressurized Water Reactor, and is working with several European utilities to develop the 1250+ MWe KERENA Boiling Water Reactor.

In India, two advanced Water cooled and Water Moderated Nuclear Reactors, WWER-1000 (V-412), with passive safety systems, designed by Atomenergoproject and Gidropress of the Russian Federation, are under construction at Kudankulam, with commercial operation planned for 2009 and 2010, respectively (see Figure 3). In addition, there are firm plans to build several more WWER-1000 plants as well as some of the larger 1200 MWe AES-2006 designs. There are also firm plans to build six AREVA EPRs and several GE-Hitachi ABWRs.

In Japan, benefits of standardization and series construction are being realized with the large-size ABWR units designed by General Electric, Hitachi Ltd, and Toshiba Corp, which have been constructed in Japan. The first two ABWRs, the 1360 MWe Kashiwazaki-Kariwa 6 and 7 units, began operation in 1996 and 1997, Hamaoka 5 began operation in April 2004, Shika 2 in July 2005, and deployment programmes are underway for more ABWRs to be operational in the 2011–2014 time frame. Two ABWRs are under construction in Taiwan, China.

Also, the basic design of a large advanced PWR has been completed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and Westinghouse for the Japan Atomic Power Company’s Tsuruga-3 and 4 units, and a larger version, the advanced pressurized water reactor (APWR+), is being designed. MHI has submitted a US APWR to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) for design certification. Aiming to further evolve LWR technology, work is underway in Japan for a next generation LWR in the 1700 – 1800 MWe range, with an 80 year life, a lifetime average capacity factor of 97 percent, and a construction period of 30 months.

In the Republic of Korea, the benefits of standardization and series construction are being realized with the 1000 MWe Korean Standard Nuclear Plants (KSNPs). Ten KSNPs are in commercial operation. The accumulated experience has been used by Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP) to develop an improved version, the 1000 MWe Optimized Power Reactor (OPR), of which four units are under construction. The first units of the OPR will be Shin-Kori 1 and 2 with grid connection scheduled for 2010 and 2011 (see Figure 2), and the next units will be Shin Wolsong 1 and 2 with grid connection scheduled for 2011 and 2012.  

KHNP’s Advanced Power Reactor APR-1400 builds on the KSNP experience with the higher power level to capture economies of scale. The first APR-1400 unit is under construction at Shin-Kori 3.

Activities are underway in the Republic of Korea to design an APR+ of approximately 1500 MWe, with the goal to complete the standard design by 2012. 

Source: Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP).

Figure 2 Construction of OPR-1000 at Shin-Kori, Republic of Korea

Source: Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL).

Figure 3 Photo of the construction site of two evolutionary WWER-1000 units at Kudankulam, India

In the Russian Federation evolutionary WWER plants have been designed building on experience from currently operating WWER-1000 plants. Four evolutionary WWER units are under construction as follows: 2 WWER-1000/320 at the Kalinin and Volgodonsk sites (restarts); 1 WWER-1200/392M at the Novovoronezh-2 site; and 1 WWER-1200/491 at the Leningrad-2 site. Commissioning of many more WWER units of the AES-2006 design are planned by 2020 at Novovoronezh, Leningrad, Volgodon, Kursk, Smolensk and Kola.  Another WWER-1000 evolutionary unit will be constructd in Belene, Bulgaria using some features of AES-2006 design basis. Two evolutionary WWER-1000 (V-428) units have been connected to the grid at Tianwan, China in 2006 and 2007. Construction of another WWER-1000 unit is underway in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

In the USA, designs for a large APWR (the Combustion Engineering System 80+) and a large ABWR (General Electric’s ABWR) were certified by the USNRC in 1997. Westinghouse’s mid-size AP-600 design with passive safety systems was certified in 1999. Westinghouse has developed the AP-1000 applying the passive safety technology developed for the AP-600 with the goal of reducing capital costs through economies-of-scale. In February 2006, the AP-1000 received design certification from the USNRC, and an amendment is presently under review by the U.S.NRC. A Westinghouse-led international team is developing the modular, integral IRIS[3] design in the small- to medium-size range.

General Electric is designing the large Economical Simplified BWR (ESBWR), applying economies of scale and modular passive system technology. The ESBWR is currently in the design certification review phase with the U.S.NRC.

The US Department of Energy, together with industry, is funding development of early site permits^[4] for new plants. Also, work is underway by several nuclear plant operating organizations on preparation of combined construction permit and operating license applications (COL) with the USNRC. The COL process is a “one-step” process by which safety concerns are resolved prior to start of construction, and the NRC issues a license for construction and operation of a new plant.

Figure 4: Photo showing first concrete for Sanmen Unit 1 (3.2009) Credit: SNPTC

Figure 5: Pre-fabrication of the containment vessel for Sanmen 1. Credit: SNPTC

3.1.2.  Innovative LWRs

Several small- and-medium sized designs are of the integral type with the steam generator housed in the same vessel as the reactor core to eliminate primary system piping. The Argentinian CAREM (from Spanish: Central ARgentina de Elementos Modulares) reactor is cooled by natural circulation, and has passive safety systems. Argentina plans to construct and operate a small prototype by about 2011, followed by larger projects with higher power ratings. Site preparation activities for the prototype have started at the Atucha site. The SMART (System Integrated Modular Advanced Reactor) 330 MWt design developed in the Republic of Korea is an integral PWR for electricity production and seawater desalination. Construction of a pilot or demonstration plant is planned. As another example, the NuScale company in the USA is designing a 45 MWe small integral PWR. More recently, B&W announced their plans to deploy their new 125 MWe integral reactor design, the mPower.

In Russia, the Experimental Design Bureau of Machine Building (OKBM) has develop the KLT-40S, a floating small NPP design for electricity and heat, for which construction was started in June 2006. Assembly of the first reactor for the floating plant was completed in early 2009 and the assembly of the second one is well underway.

In Japan, with the goals of sustainable energy through high conversion (a conversion ratio equal to or beyond 1.0) of fertile isotopes to fissile isotopes, Hitachi Ltd. is developing the large-size, reduced moderation Resource-Renewable BWR (RBWR) and JAEA is developing the large-size Reduced Moderation Water Reactor (RMWR).

A prototype or a demonstration plant will most likely be required for thermodynamically supercritical water-cooled systems, which have been selected for development by the Generation-IV International Forum (GIF). In a supercritical system, the reactor operates above the critical point of water (22.4 MPa and 374°C) resulting in higher thermal efficiency than current LWRs and HWRs. Thermal efficiencies of 40-45% are projected with simplified plant designs. The large-size thermodynamically super-critical water-cooled reactor concept being developed by Toshiba, Hitachi and the University of Tokyo is an example. The European Commission is supporting the High Performance Light Water Reactor (HP-LWR) project for a thermodynamically supercritical LWR. Activities on thermodynamically super-critical concepts are also ongoing at universities, research centres and design organizations in Canada, the USA, Germany, India, Republic of Korea, Russia, China and the Ukraine.

3.2.  Heavy water reactors (HWRs)

About 9% of the operating nuclear plants are HWRs. Heavy water moderation provides good neutron economy and, with online refuelling, makes possible the use of natural uranium fuel.

In Canada, Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. (AECL) is developing the large-size, evolutionary Advanced CANDU (CANada Deuterium Uranium) Reactor, the ACR-1000, using slightly enriched uranium and light water coolant and incorporating improvements derived from research and development conducted in recent decades. Also, as a part of the GIF initiative, AECL is developing an innovative pressure tube reactor design with heavy water moderator and supercritical light-water coolant.

In India, a process of evolution of HWR design has been carried out since the Rajasthan 1 and 2 projects. India’s 540 MWe HWR design incorporates feedback from the indigenously designed 220 MWe units, and in September 2005 and August 2006 the two 540 MWe units at Tarapur began commercial operation. India is also designing an evolutionary 700 MWe HWR, and an Advanced Heavy Water Reactor using heavy water moderation with boiling light water coolant in vertical pressure tubes, optimized for utilization of thorium, and with passive safety systems. Research is also underway on heavy water moderated, pressure tube designs with thermodynamically supercritical water coolant.

3.3.  Gas-cooled reactors (GCRs)

In the United Kingdom, nuclear electricity is mostly generated by CO2-cooled, graphite-moderated Magnox and advanced gas-cooled reactors. In several countries, prototype and demonstration GCR plants with helium coolant using the Rankine steam cycle for electric power generation have been built and operated. Currently, two helium-cooled test reactors are in operation: the High-Temperature Engineering Test Reactor (HTTR) at the JAEA in Japan and the HTR-10 at the Institute of Nuclear Energy Technology in China.

In South Africa, Russia, the USA, France and Japan, considerable efforts are devoted to the direct-cycle gas turbine high-temperature reactor, which promises high thermal efficiency and low power generation cost. In South Africa, the design of the small-size demonstration pebble-bed modular high-temperature reactor is being developed. In China, The HTR-PM (High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor – Pebble-Bed Module) project with an indirect (steam turbine) cycle is entering basic design stage, supported by the Chinese government. Siting evaluation is being performed for the first demonstration plant and follow-up units. The target is to have a HTR-PM demonstration plant constructed around 2010. Brayton cycle turbomachinery, which would be incorporated in the future modifications of this design, is under development in the Russian Federation by OKBM.

Collaboration is underway between the USA and Russia on a Gas Turbine Modular Helium Reactor (GT-MHR) small reactor concept for destruction of weapons grade plutonium in conjunction with electricity production. Other small helium-cooled reactor concepts are being developed by JAEA and Fuji Electric in Japan, and the Nuclear Research & Consultancy Group (NRG) in the Netherlands.  

3.4.          Fast reactors

Fast reactors have been under development for many years in several countries, primarily as breeders. Plutonium breeding allows fast reactors to extract sixty-to-seventy times more energy from uranium than thermal reactors do - a capability that will allow very substantial increases in nuclear power in the longer term. Fast reactors can also contribute to reducing plutonium stockpiles, and to reducing the required isolation time for high-level radioactive waste by utilizing transuranic radioisotopes and transmuting some long-lived fission products.

The design and operation of sodium-cooled fast reactors, such as the small size Prototype Fast Reactor in the United Kingdom, the prototype Phénix in France, the BN-350 in Kazakstan (part of its thermal energy was used for sea-water desalination), the demonstration BN-600 in Russia, Monju in Japan, and the commercial size Superphénix in France, have provided an experience base of more than 400 reactor-years. In addition, there is a considerable base of experience with lead-bismuth (eutectic) cooled propulsion (submarine) reactors operated in Russia.

Currently (see below for details), there are two experimental fast reactors in operation (BOR-60 and FBTR) and one under commissioning (CEFR); one power fast reactor in operation (BN-600), one under re-start preparation (Monju), one in the stage of end-of-life tests (Phénix), and two under construction (PFBR and BN-800).

Examples of current activities include: completion of the construction in China of the small size Chinese Experimental Fast Reactor with criticality scheduled for fall 2009; the development of the medium size KALIMER 600 design in the Republic of Korea; the successful operation of the Indian Fast Breeder Test Reactor and its utilization for fast reactor R&D, especially fuel irradiation and materials research; the medium size Prototype FBR in India for which construction started in 2004 and commissioning is planned for 2010- 2011; and, in France, the end-of-life experimental programme at Phénix that will be shut down in fall of 2009, as well as design work for a medium size new generation fast reactor (ASTRID), as a test-bed for system and technological innovation, having the capability for materials and fuel testing, and demonstration of advanced recycle strategies.

Figure 7:  Chinese experimental fast reactor. Credit (CIAE)

In China, component installation work for the pool-type China Experimental Fast Reactor (CEFR, 65MWth，20MWe) was completed (Figure 7). Two hundred-fifty tons of nuclear grade high purity sodium was shipped to the plant. Filling of the primary and secondary loops was completed in April 2009. Fuel loading is planned to start in August 2009, with first criticality before the end of the year. Grid connection at 30% power is planned for mid-2010.

France just completed the definition of the test program in view of the final shut-down of the 280 MWe fast reactor Phénix. Research and technology development activities are ongoing in two areas: the gas-cooled and the sodium-cooled fast reactor concepts. France is planning an experimental reactor (ETDR, possibly as an European project) in the range of 50 MWth to demonstrate the viability of key gas-cooled fast reactor technologies. For the sodium-cooled concept, design work is ongoing for the 250 – 600 MWe GEN IV prototype sodium-cooled fast reactor ASTRID (to be commissioned in 2020), as a test-bed for system and technological innovation, having the capability for materials and fuel testing, and demonstration of advanced recycle strategies.

In India, the design and analysis of all major systems and components of the 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR, under construction at Kalpakkam) have been completed (Figure 6). At the same time, R&D activities in the fields of reactor physics, component development, thermal hydraulics, structural mechanics, materials and metallurgy, safety, fuel chemistry and reprocessing are focused towards future fast breeder reactors. For closing the fuel cycle, a Fast Reactor Fuel Cycle Facility (FRFCF) is under construction at Kalpakkam. The layout of the FRFCF has been planned in such a way that expansion is possible to meet the requirements of two more 500 MWe FBRs, which are planned to be built also at the Kalpakkam site at later date.

Japan just completed the Monju modification work, the functional testing of the modified systems as well as the  entire system functional testing.  Based on a Japanese policy decision, the Fast Reactor Cycle Technology Development (FaCT) Project was launched aiming at the commercialization of fast reactor cycle technology. The main development issues were identified (13 fast reactor technology issues and 12 fuel cycle issues). Design studies and R&D of innovative technologies are in progress, with the twofold objective of providing, by 2010, the basis for deciding which innovative technologies to adopt, and delivering, by 2015, the conceptual designs of demonstration and commercial facilities. In addition the Central Research Institute of Electric Power and Toshiba Corporation are developing the small-size sodium-cooled 4S plant for remote autonomous operation, with a 30-year core lifetime. A US NRC pre-application design certification has been submitted.

In Russia, the construction of the BN-800 fast reactor at Beloyarsk is progressing. BN-800 commissioning is planned for 2014. In addition. R&D programs are pursued in several areas  such as the design of the BN 800 MOX-fuel manufacturing pilot plant, the development of advanced sodium cooled fast reactors development and the R&D on fast reactors with heavy liquid metal coolant (lead-bismuth-cooled SVBR-100, lead-cooled BREST ОD 300, lead-cooled research fast reactor BIRS).

Within the framework of a distinct track in the GIF sodium-cooled fast reactor system research plan, the USA is preparing a small-size sodium-cooled modular fast reactor concept whose characteristics are long life, proliferation resistance, inherent safety and potential for remote locations deployment. As far as lead-cooled fast reactor R&D, the US focuses on a small-size concepts, like the lead-cooled secure transportable autonomous reactor (STAR) fuelled with nitride fuel.

4.            Expanded Applications of Nuclear Energy

About one-fifth of the world’s energy consumption is used for electricity generation. Most of the world’s energy consumption is for heat and transportation. Nuclear energy has considerable potential to penetrate into these energy sectors now served by fossil fuels with price volatility and finite supply. Expanded applications of nuclear energy include seawater desalination, district heating, heat for industrial processes, electricity and/or heat for hydrogen production.

 The objectives [2] for non-electrical applications include the following:

• Expand the range of products
• Communicate effectively with all stakeholders to ensure transparency
• Design and operate integrated nuclear systems for non-electrical applications in conformance with safety requirements; and
• Keep abreast of market trends and new needs and identify, design and implement new potential non-electric applications

The temperature requirements for various heat applications vary from around 100-150°C for hot water and steam for district heating and seawater desalination, up to 850-950°C for hydrogen production by thermo-chemical processes. The major applications are at the lower temperatures using water-cooled reactors and at the high temperatures using high-temperature gas-cooled reactors. High temperature applications are in the laboratory or small-scale demonstration phase with significant R&D required prior to large-scale deployment.

5.1      District heating

District heating networks in large cities generally have installed capacities in the range of 600 to 1200 MW(th), decreasing to approximately 10 to 50 MW(th) in towns and small communities. Experience with nuclear district heating has been gained in Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland and the Ukraine.

5.2      Seawater desalination

Demand for freshwater is rapidly growing throughout the world and some regions already suffer severe shortages. Seawater desalination is a process of separating dissolved saline components from seawater to obtain freshwater with low salinity, adequate for irrigation, drinking and industrial use. Nuclear desalination is the production of potable water from seawater in an integrated facility in which a nuclear reactor is used as the source of energy (electrical and/or thermal) for the desalination process on the same site. The facility may be dedicated solely to the production of potable water, or may be used for the cogeneration of electricity and production of potable water. India, Japan, Kazakhstan and Pakistan have experience with nuclear seawater desalination, and several other countries are considering its introduction.

5.3      Transportation

In the near term, nuclear power can contribute to transportation [14] by providing low and stable-priced electricity for electric vehicles and for plug-in hybrid vehicles^[5].

Furthermore, hydrogen as an energy carrier is receiving increasing attention, and nuclear energy is well placed as an efficient and clean source of energy for hydrogen production.

Hydrogen can be produced by nuclear energy by various means, ranging from low-temperature electrolysis of water to high-temperature thermochemical processes for water-splitting. Nuclear energy can contribute to the initial introduction of a transportation system based on hydrogen (e.g., fuel cell vehicles) by providing low-price electricity for hydrogen production by water electrolysis at the fuelling station. While the efficiency of this process is lower than the efficiency of hydrogen production with high temperature thermochemical water-splitting processes or with high-temperature electrolysis, the technology is currently available. In the longer term, production of hydrogen by these high-temperature processes at central nuclear stations, connected to extensive hydrogen distribution networks, might be implemented.

Activities are pursued in several countries toward achieving hydrogen’s potential for solving energy security, diversity, environmental needs and its production with nuclear energy. For example, the JAEA in Japan is considering demonstrating nuclear hydrogen production at the High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor (HTTR) by about 2015. In the USA, development of a next generation nuclear plant (NGNP) for cogeneration of hydrogen and electricity to operate by 2021 is underway.

5.4      Heat for other industrial processes

Process heat is used in industries for a variety of applications. The pulp, paper and textile industries require heat at temperatures of 200 to 300°C. Chemical industries, oil refining, oil shale and oil sand processing and coal gasification require temperatures up to 500-600°C. The demands of large industrial users usually have baseload characteristics. Experience with provision of process steam by nuclear energy for industrial purposes has been gained in Canada, Germany, Norway, India and Switzerland.

6.  Conclusions

With a 14% share, nuclear power contributes significantly to the world's electricity supply and has great potential to expand, and to contribute to emerging needs such as seawater desalination, hybrid electric vehicles and hydrogen production. Considerable development is on-going for new, advanced nuclear power plants with competitive economics and very high safety levels.

At the same time, nuclear power faces significant challenges, including: continuing to achieve a high level of safety; implementing high level waste disposal; and strengthening the nuclear non-proliferation regime. Success in these areas will provide a sound basis for establishing nuclear power as a sustainable energy source.

References

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