Nuclear

Emerging nuclear tech highlighted at Enlit Europe conference

EU leaders are showing more support for nuclear energy.
Emerging nuclear tech highlighted at Enlit Europe conference
(Panelists speak on emerging nuclear tech at the Enlit Europe conference in Paris. Source: Clarion Energy.)

Members of the European Parliament recently voted to expand the list of net-zero technologies in the EU’s Net-Zero Industry Act, which sets a target for Europe to produce 40% of its annual deployment needs in net-zero technologies by 2030. Notably, this expansion included nuclear energy.

The decision was praised by speakers of a nuclear technologies panel at the Enlit Europe conference in Paris. The panel, held on the first day of the conference, focused on the nuclear energy scene in Europe, reactor technologies and the role of small modular reactors (SMR) in the European energy transition.

Four advanced nuclear projects were highlighted during the panel: GEMINI 4.0, NPHyCo, SASPAM and TANDEM.

The objective of the GEMINI 4.0 project is to demonstrate that the high temperature nuclear cogeneration system developed in GEMINI+ can be a safe and competitive solution to power industrial activities.

The project, launched in June 2022 and funded by the EU, aims to achieve this through four main steps.

This includes consolidate the GEMINI+ system safety demonstration and ensuring its licensing readiness, developing the capability of the GEMINI+ system to operate in a cost-effective way as a cogeneration source, planning for the development of a consistent fuel cycle for high temperature reactors and implementing a communication plan aimed at political stakeholders and the general public.  

The NPHyCo (Nuclear-powered hydrogen cogeneration) project aims to focus on the potential of developing large-scale, low-carbon hydrogen production facilities linked to nuclear power plants.

NPHyCo will start by assessing the feasibility of producing hydrogen near a nuke and analyze potential offtakers like the steel, iron, fertilizer and petrochemical industry.

Canet Serin, Hydrogen Projects Manager at Covalion, a Framatome spin-off, said the technical feasibility of the project is not a question. She did say offtakers are largely interested in reliability of hydrogen supply at a competitive price.

NPHyco, also funded by EU, kicked off in Fall 2022 and will run for two and a half years. 

SASPAM-SA (Safety Analysis of SMR with Passive Mitigation Strategies – Severe Accident) aims to investigate the applicability and transfer of the operating large Light Water Reactor (LWR) knowledge for the near-term deployment of Integral Pressurized Water Reactors (iPWR).

Fulvio Mascari, Project Manager for SASPAM-SA, said iPWRs are ready to be licensed as new builds because they start from LWR technology and incorporate their operational plant experience. He said iPWRs do include moderate evolutionary design modifications to increase safety.

Research priorities would be identified in terms of methodology, code development and experimental needs. The knowledge gained would ideally support regulators in decision-making.

Key outcomes would include supporting the iPWR licensing process by bringing up key elements of the safety demonstration and to speed up the licensing and siting process of iPWRs in Europe.

The TANDEM Euratom Project, or TANDEM, aims to assess the safety compliance of SMRs to be integrated in the future European energy mic. Other objectives include creating an enabling environment for the development of hybrid energy systems based on SMRs.

The TANDEM project was submitted in October 2021 to a EURATOM call for funding. The project began in September 2022 and is expected to last a total of three years.

Advanced nuclear reactors and SMRs have been gaining momentum and interest as a potential carbon-free solution. But nuclear energy’s role in a more sustainable future has stoked strong feelings among both proponents and critics.

In general, because of their relatively small physical footprints, reduced capital investment and more flexible siting, advanced reactors and SMRs are viewed as an antidote to the cost overruns that have plagued large-scale nuclear projects. Nuclear is also carbon-free in a world that will need zero-carbon sources.

“It’s very important to have nuclear stabilize the grid,” said Claire Vaglio-Gaudard, Director of Research and senior expert for the TANDEM project

But critics decry new nuclear as expensive and unproven, and some climate and clean energy say focusing on nuclear would undercut solar and wind power.

For more Enlit Europe summit and hub sessions, click here.

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