Prospective of the nuclear energy, technological tendency

The world's concern about the energy supply in the near future, has had as an answer diverse proposals in which two multinational initiatives are highlighted, that of the International Project on Nuclear Innovative Reactors and Fuel Cycles (INPRO) and that of the Generation-l V International Forum (GIF). Both initiatives direct their efforts to the development of new technologies in nuclear energy that would satisfy the energy requirements of the future. In this article, an analysis based on a) the available information on these technologies, b) a joint study (IEA/OECD/IAEA) on the new technologies regarding its capacity to confront the current challenges of the nuclear energy, and c) the authors' experience and knowledge about the phenomenology, design and security of nuclear facilities, is presented. Moreover, the technologies that, in the authors' opinion, will have the better possibilities to compete successfully in the energy markets and could be one of the viable options to satisfy the energy demands of the future, are described. (Author)