R and D for the future nuclear systems: Stakes, challenges and international cooperation

Full text: In the XXIst century, the stakes related to power production - increasing demand, particularly in developing countries, and environmental concerns, with the necessity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions - are major and global challenges. The world's population is expected to expand from about 6 billion people to 10 billion people by 2050; international energy projections anticipate energy consumption increasing by 100% and more in the same period; at present 2 billion world inhabitants do not have access to electricity, and 1 billion lack decent access to drinking water. The world faces both necessities of increasing the energy supply and of fulfilling the sustainable development targets, and reducing the prospect of global warming. Energy savings and renewable energy sources will and must be able to contribute to these objectives, however it will not be enough and nuclear energy should provide a sustainable solution for the very high stakes involved: long-term resources (several thousands of years, if the fuel use is optimised) and no greenhouse effect or toxic gas emissions. The industrial operators and markets are becoming more and more global, and so is becoming R and D, in order to gather skills and share costs for developing the key innovative technologies for the future of nuclear energy. In the year 2000, the 'Generation IV International Forum' (GIF) was launched at the initiative of the USA, to face-up to these long-term challenges and to build sustainable nuclear systems, including reactors and fuel cycle. The six GEN IV systems were selected by GIF with the help of leading international experts because of their significant potential to advance the sustainability, safety, economics and proliferation resistance of future nuclear systems. As well as electricity generation the plants offer potential for the generation of hydrogen from water for use in transport and for water desalination. All are considered deployable by at least 2030, with some possibility available as early as 2020. In the same period, the INPRO initiative, from IAEA, is defining the socio-economical requirements for the nuclear systems to be built in the next 50 years. In parallel, experts are working within a European framework, in order to identify common requirements and R and D goals for the future nuclear systems. The presentation will describe the main features of the 4th generation nuclear energy systems, the priority scientific and technology challenges for R and D, and the related international cooperation. The feasibility of each system generally depends on two or three breakthroughs, so the R and D efforts are focused on projects dedicated to reach these breakthroughs. This paper will also analyse how these international processes have permitted to develop the vision in perspective of the fuel cycle options. (author)