Support for Demonstration of Modular High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactors (HTGRs)
|(1963-1976)||(1967-1974)||(1967-1988)||(1976-1989)||(1986-1989)||(since 1998)||(since 2000)|
International interest in HTGR technology has been increasing in recent years due to a growing recognition of the potential of HTGR designs to provide high efficiency, cost effective electricity generation appropriate for the conditions in developing countries, and in the longer term to provide a source of high and low-temperature process heat, for nuclear hydrogen and nuclear desalination applications. The inherent safety characteristics of these reactors, buttressed by the robust fuel design, the HTGRs ability to incinerate transuranic elements as well as the experience with thorium as reactor fuel are other reasons for this renewed interest.
Several international research and development as well as power projects are under way in China, France, Japan, Korea (Rep. of), Russia, South Africa and the US, in addition to the European Union and others. Moreover, a prototype reactor, the High Temperature gas-cooled Reactor – Pebble bed Module (HTR-PM) is currently under construction in China with prospects to generate electricity by 2017.
The international exchange of information and co-ordination of HTGR research through the IAEA has helped to establish the foundation for the near future development and deployment of HTGR technology. IAEA gas cooled reactor activities are conducted with the active participation and advice of the Technical Working Group on Gas Cooled Reactors and a coordinated research group on uncertainty analysis in HTGR modeling. Furthermore, the IAEA organizes regular technical meetings on specific topics related to HTGR development and deployment.
Technical Working Group On Gas Cooled Reactors
The Technical Working Group on Gas Cooled Reactors (TWG-GCR) is a continuing working group whose purpose is to advise the IAEA on promoting the exchange of technical information in the field of gas cooled reactors. Created in 1978, the group promotes international cooperation related the development of gas-cooled reactors for electricity and process heat applications. The latter involve high-temperature applications such as hydrogen production and low-temperature applications such as seawater desalination and district heating. The TWG-GCR currently includes participants from the following countries and organizations:
|Indonesia||Japan||Korea (Rep. of)|
|Netherlands||Russian Federation||South Africa|
|United Kingdom||United States of America|
|European Commission||Generation-IV International Forum (GIF)||OECD/NEA|
The role of the IAEA in this regard is to coordinate efforts of Member States to facilitate the development of gas-cooled reactors of various types by taking a systematic approach to the identification and development of key enabling technologies to achieve the highest safety levels, competitive economics and reliability and by addressing common technological issues that could facilitate their deployment.
|8-11 Apr||Technical Meeting on the Safety of High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactors in the Light of the Fukushima Daiichi Accident||IAEA, Vienna, Austria|
|10-13 Jun||Technical Meeting on High-Temperature Qualification of High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor Materials||IAEA, Vienna, Austria|
|11-12 Dec||Technical Meeting on the Status of the International Knowledge Base on Irradiated Nuclear Graphite Properties||IAEA, Vienna, Austria|
|Workshop on Construction Technology for New Nuclear Projects||Daejeon,
|2-5 Dec||Second Research Coordination Meeting on High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor Physics, Thermal-Hydraulics and Depletion Uncertainty Analysis||IAEA, Vienna, Austria|
Recent Project Publications
- Evaluation of High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor Performance: Benchmark Analysis Related to the PBMR-400, PBMM, GT-MHR, HTR-10 and the ASTRA Critical Facility
IAEA-TECDOC-1694 . (ISBN:978-92-0-137610-7) . English . 2013
- Advances in High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor Fuel Technology
IAEA-TECDOC-CD-1674 . (ISBN:978-92-0-186810-7) . English . 2013
- High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor Fuels and Materials
IAEA-TECDOC-CD-1645 . (ISBN:978-92-0-153110-0) . English . 2010
- Accident Analysis for Nuclear Power Plants with Modular High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactors
STI/PUB/1318 . (ISBN:978-92-0-100108-5) . English . 2008
- INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, Status and Prospects for Gas Cooled Reactor Fuels Proceedings of two IAEA meetings held in June 2004 and June 2005, IAEA-TECDOC-1614, Vienna (August 2009)
- INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, Accident Analysis for Nuclear Power Plants with Modular High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactors, Safety Report Series No. 54, Vienna (2008)
- INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, Evaluation of High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor Performance: Benchmark Analysis Related to Initial Testing of the HTTR and HTR-10, IAEA-TECDOC-1382, Vienna (January 2004)
- INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, Considerations in the Development of Safety Requirements for Innovative Reactors: Application to Modular High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactors, IAEA-TECDOC-1366, Vienna (July 2003)
- NTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, Critical Experiments and Reactor Physics Calculations for Low Enriched High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactors, IAEA-TECDOC-1249, Vienna (November 2001)
- INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, Gas Turbine Power Conversion Systems for Modular HTGRs, IAEA-TECDOC-1238, Vienna (September 2001)
- INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, Safety Related Design and Economic Aspects of HTGRs, IAEA-TECDOC-1210, Vienna (May 2001)
- INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, Current Status and Future Development of Modular High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor Technology, IAEA-TECDOC-1198, Vienna (April 2001)
- INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, Heat Transport and Afterheat Removal for Gas Cooled Reactors under Accident Conditions, IAEA-TECDOC-1163, Vienna (February 2001)
- Gas Turbine Power Conversion Systems for Modular HTGRs”, IAEA-TECDOC 1238 (2000)
- Hydrogen as an Energy Carrier and Its Production by Nuclear Energy”, IAEA-TECDOC 1085 (1999).
- Fuel performance and fission product behaviour in gas cooled reactors”, IAEA-TECDOC 978 (1997).