December 03, 2021
The UK will build a high temperature gas reactor (HTGR) as the centerpiece of its research, development and demonstration program for advanced modular reactors, confirmed Energy Secretary Greg Hands. “I am pleased to announce that we will focus on HTGRs as the technology choice for the further program,” he said yesterday at the Nuclear2021 conference organized by the Nuclear Industry Association in London. His statement served as a confirmation of the technology that had emerged as the UK government’s preference after a round of consultation earlier this year.
The graphite core of an EGR reactor (Image: EDF Energy)
The aim of the research program is to prove the “potential” of advanced reactors and to bring a demonstration plant into operation “by the early 2030s at the latest,” the British government said earlier. The focus would be on the generation of high temperature heat that could be used for hydrogen production, the supply of industrial processes and possibly district heating as well as electricity generation.
Several other reactor concepts could have been chosen. The emerging category of “advanced” reactors includes the high-temperature gas reactors, the lead-cooled fast reactor, the molten salt reactor, the supercritical water-cooled reactor, the sodium-cooled fast reactor and the very high temperature gas reactor. However, the HTGR is a natural complement for the UK, which started its nuclear power sector with two generations of domestically designed gas-cooled reactors: the 26 Magnox reactors used in the 1960s and 1970s and the 14 Advanced Gas-cooled Reactors (AGRs ). used in the 1970s and 1980s.
Tom Greatrex, Chief Executive Officer of the Nuclear Industry Association, said: “This is a welcome signal to industry and investors that the UK is serious about leading the next generation of nuclear development and expanding this vital skill base.”
Paul Howarth, CEO of the National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL), called it “another signal for the resurgence of nuclear technology”. He added, “With the ability HTGRs offer to provide high temperature heat, hydrogen and synthetic fuels, the potential of this technology to decarbonise our industries and our energy grid is significant.” He noted that NNL “is actively working on the fuel, graphite and high temperature materials required for HTGRs”.
The research, development and demonstration program for advanced modular reactors includes £ 170 million (US $ 224 million) in government funding from a £ 385 million package aimed at accelerating the development of highly flexible nuclear technologies.
Researched and written by World Nuclear News
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