Status of Liquid Metal Reactor Development in the United States of America

The advanced nuclear technology development program in the United States embodies coordinated planning for a viable nuclear option both in the near-term and in the next century when fuel resources are likely to be more limited. Advancements to light water reactor technology are being developed for potential use in the next decade and beyond. Longer-term development is focusing on an advanced modular high temperature gas reactor and—more to the interest of this meeting—an advanced liquid metal reactor (LMR) and its associated fuel cycle. The LMR concept has a sound technology base, with some three decades of research and development both in this and other countries. An existing network of government and industry research facilities and engineering test centers in the United States is currently providing test capabilities and the technical expertise required to conduct an aggressive advanced reactor development program. Notable among the research facilities are the two operating LMRs, the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) at Hanford, Washington, and the Experimental Breeder Reactor-II (EBR-II) at Argonne National Laboratory in Idaho. Both have compiled excellent performance records, which include numerous achievements that contribute to confidence in the choice of the LMR concept for advanced development