The pebble bed modular reactor: a new reactor for the twenty-first century

Abstract

The ready availability of cheap energy has been a dominant driver for the economic growth and prosperity we have seen in the twentieth century, particularly in the industrially developed countries of the world. But as we head into the twenty-first century the continuing inexorable growth in demand for energy raises fundamental problems of environmental damage and resource limitation. It is clear therefore that energy market requirements for the twenty-first century must undergo a fundamental shift towards sustainability as their main priority. A major component of primary energy supply is in the form of electricity, predominantly based on fossil fuel generation. Thus, a major element of the challenge is to replace fossil generation, and this raises the question of the role to be played by nuclear power. The USA and UK appear to be addressing the question of new nuclear stations as part of an overall review of energy policy. However in many industrialised countries there is major public and political opposition to its increased use, and this is focused on the four main issues of safety, economics, nuclear waste management, and the risk of nuclear weapons proliferation. This paper describes an important new South African led development based on the pebble bed high temperature reactor concept and known as the pebble bed modular reactor. We consider in particular how this reactor meets the changing energy market requirements and addresses the above concerns.