Development and deployment of advanced nuclear reactors in liberalized markets

This paper briefly reviews advanced reactor development trends in the U.S., the U.K. and Canada, and it summarizes key points regarding its deployment. Nuclear energy industries in these countries are facing a great difficulty today. This is mainly because the profitability of nuclear power plants (NPPs) is getting worse in liberalized electricity market. On the other hand, these countries regard nuclear energy as an important clean energy source in the long-term perspective. And so, they are conducting (or planning to conduct) various kinds of policy measures to promote R & D of advanced nuclear technologies and to secure funding for the industries. If Japan also wants to catch up with these countries and deploy advanced reactors in the future as stated in its Strategic Energy Plan (2018), they should take actions as soon as possible. (author)