SPECIAL REPORT | JAPAN Andrew Tunnicliffe
Freelance writer and editor
Does Japan offer rich pickings for SMRs?
Japan is pushing to lead the way on advanced and small modular reactors. The country has put it high on the list of its economic and societal reform plans. But whilst the desire to be a leader is there, the political will to lead by example remains a challenge. Andrew Tunnicliffe speaks with Keith Franklin of the National Nuclear Laboratory and Diane Hughes of NuScale
THE JAPANESE EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI, and the subsequent nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant scarred the country. It not only wounded it geologically and by the loss of many lives, it also shook its economy and domestic nuclear sector. “On the nuclear front, there are currently only a handful of plants operating in Japan, out of dozens which could be, and some plants have now been earmarked for decommissioning,” says Keith Franklin, head of international engagement at the UK’s National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL). “With this backdrop it is understandable that the Japanese government is looking to the future and the role in which new technology could play in the drive to net zero.”
Like much of the developed world, Japan is seeking
to shape its future economy around climate and environmental goals — ambitious, but essential for the future of the planet — whilst quenching the unabated thirst for power. It believes the route is through future technologies such as advanced modular reactors (AMRs) and small modular reactors (SMRs). “Japan is one of the few countries in the world with a highly developed nuclear power station manufacturing base, and is ideally placed to be a leading country in the development of new technologies,” says Franklin. In mid-June the country’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) unveiled the latest version of its Green Growth Strategy: a plan it hopes will help it achieve carbon neutrality by the middle of the century. “Realising carbon neutrality by 2050 will require an enormous effort. We need to significantly accelerate structural changes in the energy and industry sectors, and [to make] bold investment to make innovation,” the Ministry said. “The Green Growth Strategy will produce and direct all available policies… and international cooperation towards that goal.” Speaking of the updated strategy, METI Minister Hiroshi
Kajiyama said: “Based on a recognition that 2050 is not the far future, but the near future, METI will definitely implement the Green Growth Strategy in cooperation with relevant ministries and agencies.” Franklin noted insights related to the government’s thinking on the future of SMRs and HTGRs in the updated plan, adding it was a clear indication of what the future may hold.
The wide ranging plan covers numerous industrial sectors
and has considerable social ambition. However, it has a significant focus on energy, including renewables, hydrogen, fuel ammonia, next-generation thermal energy and nuclear
power. The nuclear power sector was set four key goals: ● Steady promotion of fast-reactor development through international cooperation (added for the first time in the updated plan).
● Demonstration of technology for SMRs by 2030, through international cooperation.
Above: Illustration of a NuScale power plant from 1000ft Photo: NuScale Power 14 | August 2021 |
www.neimagazine.com
● Establishment of elemental technology involved in the production of hydrogen using high-temperature gas- cooled reactors (HTGRs) by 2030.
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