Objective
Fast reactors have the unique ability to be sustainable by, not only being able to generate their own fuel, but through being able to burn minor actinides to reduce the quantity and radiotoxicity of nuclear wastes. The latter ability enables fast reactors to not only burn the minor actinides produced by themselves but, in addition, the minor actinides arising from legacy wastes and thermal reactors in the nuclear park. This proposal concentrates on the gas-cooled fast reactor (GFR) with a view to developing the GFR as a more sustainable version of the very high temperature reactor (VHTR). The design goals for GFR are ambitious, aiming, initially, for a core outlet temperature of around 850 deg.C a compact core with a power density of about 100MWth/m3, a low enough plutonium inventory to allow wide deployment, a self-sustaining core in terms of plutonium consumption, and a proliferation resistant core by not using specific plutonium breeding elements. This project will contribute Euratom’s contribution to the Generation IV system research programme. As such, it is strongly aligned with the goals and structure of the latter. In addition this project fulfills an objective of thestrategic research agenda of the European Sustainable Nuclear Energy Technology platform, for GFR to be developed as one of the longer-term alternatives to the sodium cooled fast reactor. The work of this project is aligned with the viability phase of the Generation IV GFR system which concludes at the end of 2012. As such this is a three year project and its objective is to contribute to the demonstration of the viability of the GFR system with regard to deployment as a commercial sustainable nuclear energy system. As well as contributing to Generation IV GFR research, this project provides the Euratom representation on the GFR System Steering Committee and the two project management boards (PMBs), namely, the Conceptual Design and Safety PMB and the Fuel and Core Materials PMB
Fields of science
Call for proposal
FP7-Fission-2009
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Funding Scheme
CP-FP - Small or medium-scale focused research projectCoordinator
WA16 8QZ Knutsford
United Kingdom
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Participants (21)
92400 Courbevoie
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75015 PARIS 15
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20156 Milano
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28015 Madrid
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76131 Karlsruhe
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SW7 2AZ LONDON
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92260 Fontenay Aux Roses
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1049 Bruxelles / Brussel
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1755 LE Petten
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5232 Villigen Psi
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DE24 8BJ Derby
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2628 CN Delft
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51105 Koln
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00186 Rome
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1111 Budapest
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00196 Roma
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16152 Genova
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1525 BUDAPEST
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52428 Julich
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250 68 Husinec-Rez
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WA3 6AE Warrington
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