S. BILBAO Y LEON, Virginia Commonwealth University, USA and J. H. CHOI, J. CLEVELAND, I. KHAMIS, A. RAO, A. STANCULESCU, H. SUBKI and B. TYOBEKA, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Austria

Abstract: This chapter discusses the various nuclear technologies currently available for near-term deployment, as well as those in advanced stages of development that are expected to become available in the near to medium term. The chapter includes a brief overview of innovative nuclear technologies proposed for the longer term. Finally, the chapter offers some insights about the use of advanced nuclear technologies for non-electrical applications.

Key words: advanced nuclear reactor designs, evolutionary nuclear reactor designs, innovative nuclear reactor designs.

9.1 Introduction

In addition to the support required in the development of the infrastructure necessary to deploy a new nuclear program, newcomer countries have also indicated a desire to receive guidance in the process of evaluating the dif­ferent nuclear technology options.

Countries, both those considering their first nuclear power plant and those with an existing nuclear power program, are interested in having ready access to the most up-to-date information about all available nuclear reactor designs as well as important development trends. To meet this need, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has developed the Advanced Reactors Information System (ARIS) (IAEA, 2010), a web — accessible database that provides Member States with balanced, compre­hensive and always up-to-date information about all advanced reactor designs and concepts.

In addition to having accurate information about the various nuclear technologies available, the key technical characteristics of a particular nuclear project should be clearly understood and specified at the onset of

This chapter is the copyright of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and is reproduced by the Publisher with the IAEA’s permission. Any further use or reproduction of the chapter, in whole or in part, requires the permission of the IAEA. The chapter has been written by a staff member of the IAEA in his personal capacity and not on behalf of the IAEA or the Director General of the IAEA. The views expressed in the chapter are not necessarily those of the IAEA and that the IAEA disclaims all liability in connection with the chapter and any use made thereof.

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the project. In this way both the technical and economic benefits of the alternative nuclear power plant designs and associated technologies can be objectively assessed against the situation and the needs of each country, and the most suitable design can be selected. Nations need to follow a design — neutral systematic approach that evaluates the technical merits of the various nuclear power plant technologies available on the market based on each country’s needs and requirements.

The objective of this chapter is to help the reader differentiate among the different kinds of nuclear reactors and develop a clear picture about the current status of nuclear power technology. The chapter describes in some detail the most relevant nuclear reactor designs developed by all the suppliers/designer organizations in the world, highlights their advantages and disadvantages, and provides an update about the status of development and deployment of each one of them.

Because nuclear technology can also be used for many applications in addition to the production of electricity, and because many newcomer coun­tries are interested in these non-electric applications almost as much as they are in the production of nuclear electricity, the chapter also provides a summary of the various non-electric applications of nuclear power and the technology needed to effectively deploy them.