HTGRs for near-term application

The High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor (HTGR) uses ceramic fuel, a graphite moderator, and helium as the primary coolant. These materials allow the HTGR to operate at high temperatures and provide inherent advantages associated with safety, investment protection and environmental compatibility. The reference design being advanced in the U.S. is based on a 350 MWt Modular HTGR (MHTGR) concept. The design development effort seeks to optimally capitalize on the inherent features in order to provide an attractive nuclear generation alternative by the turn of century including the establishment of an industrial/institutional base for future, expanded applications. The evaluations performed to date indicate that the reference plant design can meet the performance, investment protection and economic requirements established through Gas-Cooled Reactor Associates (GCRA), the utility/user organization that supports the development and commercialization of the HTGR. Ongoing development activities are focused on reference plant design and licensing, technology support, and establishing a one-module Demonstration Project