ADVANCED REACTORS | REACTOR DESIGN
advanced nuclear will likely be highly competitive if overnight capital costs of $2,000/kWe can be achieved, regardless of other conditions. Advanced nuclear could also be competitive for electricity production for overnight capital cost ranges of $4,000–$6,000/kWe if other power system costs are higher than expected in the event of limited transmission growth or limited materials, for example. The authors notes that nuclear power could, however, be deployed for reasons other than least cost, such as to maintain optionality, as well as for non-grid nuclear applications even if overnight capital costs are higher than $6,000/kWe. The authors contend that regulatory reforms, including to wholesale electricity markets, could also better capture the value that advanced nuclear reactors could contribute when considering their potential role in maintaining electricity system reliability and resilience. The report notes that the up-front financing costs for developing nuclear reactors are currently higher than those for other energy technologies because of large capital requirements, extended development timelines, and limited financing options. While these challenges are being addressed in part by various DOE programmes, including the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP), a private–public partnership scheme that aims to demonstrate new and advanced nuclear technologies, final costs for planned ARDP plants are still uncertain. The level of government funding and vendor contributions for the first-of-a-kind (FOAK) demonstrations implies a cost of some two to two and half times the $4000–$6000/kWe capital cost threshold. Significant and rapid learning and cost reductions will be necessary when moving from FOAK to nth-of- a-kind (NOAK) to achieve market breakthrough. The authors argue that in order to ensure the efficient deployment of scarce resources, US federal government programmes for advanced nuclear development need better coordination and continuity, from early R&D through demonstration and deployment. Such programmes should also include decision points for continuation or termination of funding for specific reactor concepts. A comprehensive set of development phases and milestones, and a clear understanding of commercialization strategy requirements should define all federal funding assistance, the report notes.
In a key recommendation the report says the nuclear industry and the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy should fully develop a structured, ongoing programme to ensure the best performing technologies move rapidly to and through demonstration as measured by technical (testing, reliability), financial (cost, schedule), regulatory, and social acceptance milestones.
Technical and financial challenges The analysis points to the need for substantial private sector and government investment to transform the energy system and achieve climate and energy security goals. However, to realise these scenarios, advanced reactors must also succeed in many different areas too. The report gives multiple examples: completing new reactor technology demonstrations, verifying new business cases for non- electric applications, showing improved cost metrics that are competitive with other low-carbon power generation technologies, improving construction and project management compared to current LWR builds, obtaining
timely regulatory approval, gaining societal acceptance in host communities, and responding to security and safeguard obligations. Overlooking any of these areas could compromise commercial viability, the authors say. The various advanced reactors under development are
at different levels of technological maturity and therefore must confront different technology gaps before wide-scale deployment. More mature concepts – small modular LWRs, small modular sodium-cooled fast reactors (SFRs), small modular high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs) – need to address regulatory qualification of unique systems, resolve fuel and supply chain issues, and demonstrate operational performance. SFRs and HTGRs will also need to address supply chain and high-assay low-enrichment uranium (HALEU) issues and operational reliability, which have impacted those designs in the past. Less mature concepts, such as gas-cooled fast reactors (GFRs), fluoride- molten-salt-cooled high-temperature reactors (FHRs), molten-salt-fuelled reactors (MSRs), and large SFRs, have technology gaps related to viability and performance of key reactor features, including fuel and materials behaviour and adequacy of passive safety systems. Increased use of better-performing materials, advanced fuels and high-performance fuel cladding materials, and advanced/additive manufacturing could produce notable improvements in performance and economics. However, while many of the current concepts plan to move to commercial reactor demonstration with existing materials, optimisation of future reactor systems and further improvements in safety, reliability, and economics will require advancements in technology and materials. Focused investment in these issues is necessary to enable these technologies to advance to wider deployment. Because demonstrations of advanced nuclear designs are
not expected until the late 2020s or early 2030s, it may be difficult for new nuclear technologies to make a significant contribution until the next few decades, the authors note. Nonetheless, they also observe that there is a potential longer-term role for advanced reactors. They argue that the race against climate change is both a marathon and a sprint and will span several decades. Projected growth in electricity demand during the coming decades presents important opportunities for advanced nuclear technologies.
Getting the timing right The report makes a number of recommendations that the authors argue will foster the timely development of advanced reactors. For example, they call on the DOE to initiate a research programme that sets aggressive goals for improving fuels and materials performance and incentivises the use of modern materials science, including access to modern test reactors, to decrease the time to deployment of materials with improved performance and accelerated qualification. The report says this programme could take the form of a strategic partnership involving the DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy and Office of Science, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Electric Power Research Institute, the nuclear industry, national laboratories, and universities. Congress and the DOE should also maintain the Advanced
Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP) concept and develop a coordinated plan among owner/operators, industry vendors, and the DOE laboratories that can support development efforts. This should include long-range
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