Steam generating and other heavy water reactors

It is now almost a quarter of a century since the first heavy water reactor (the CP 3 reactor at Argonne) went critical in 1944 and the fact that heavy water moderated reactors have not yet established a real foothold in the commercial power field, with the notable exception of the Canadian programme, has certainly not been due to lack of interest on the part of designers over the intervening years. It must rather be ascribed to the recognition of an incentive to concentrate first on systems which could be exploited most rapidly. The graphite moderated and light water moderated systems had a much greater initial boost from military programmes, and this helped these types of reactors to 'get off the ground first' and take the lead in the power generation field.