A review on the development of nuclear power reactors
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Date
2019-02
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Publisher
Elsevier
Abstract
Nuclear power can solve the energy trilemma of supplying baseload, clean and affordable power. However, a review of nuclear power plant (NPP) builds show mixed results, with delays in Finland and in the US offset by successes in China, South Korea and the UAE. In the West, financing for new builds has been difficult in the face of a deregulated energy market, billion-dollar upfront investments, long build times and in the case of the US historically low gas prices. We explore how the nuclear industry is innovating in facing these challenges through a review of nuclear power developments in the past, present and future. Early developments in nuclear power in the 1950s resulted in a variety of designs, out of which the pressurised water reactor (PWR) became dominant for its compactness and overall economy. Over the next 10 years, several PWR-based small modular reactor (SMR) designs are expected to come online within an eight-year timeframe. Their modular construction and fabrication in a controlled factory setting aims to shorten build times from 8 to 3 years. However, the lack of established regulatory approval pathways may be a time-limiting challenge that needs to be overcome by the first fleet of SMRs. The passive safety and a smaller fuel loading of SMRs will allow them to be deployed at more potential sites, including brownfield replacements of old coal-fired power plants or power unconventional, remote or islanded grids. Some SMRs are also designed to load follow which will allow them to work harmoniously with intermittent renewables sources with the promise of an affordable, truly carbon-neutral grid. In the longer term, advanced nuclear reactors in the form of sodium cooled, molten salt cooled, and high temperature gas cooled reactors hold the promise of providing efficient electricity production, industrial heat for heavy industry as well as the generation of hydrogen for synthetic fuel. © 2019 The Author(s). Creative Commons Published by Elsevier Ltd.
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Keywords
Nuclear power, Power generation, Capacity, Thermal pollution, Waste heat, Uranium, Small modular reactors, Energy, Market
Citation
Ho, M., Obbard, E., Burr, P. A., & Yeoh, G. (2019). A review on the development of nuclear power reactors. Paper presented to 2nd International Conference on Energy and Power, ICEP2018, 13–15 December 2018, Sydney, Australia. In Energy Procedia, 160, 459-466. doi:10.1016/j.egypro.2019.02.193