Gen 4 Nuclear Reactors

Extracted Attributes

• Primary Goals

  Improved safety, sustainability, efficiency, cost-effectiveness, closed fuel cycle, long-term waste management, expanded applications beyond electricity (e.g., hydrogen production, industrial heat, desalination)

• Technology Type

  Nuclear Reactor Design

• Development Status

  Under development since approximately 2000; some expected commercial operation before 2030 (as of 2015)

• Key Characteristics

  Successors to Generation III reactors; operate at higher temperatures (VHTR) for efficient hydrogen production and carbon-neutral fuel synthesis; SFRs designed to consume transuranic isotopes

• Selected Technologies (6)

  Gas-cooled Fast Reactor (GFR), Lead-cooled Fast Reactor (LFR), Molten Salt Reactor (MSR), Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor (SFR), Supercritical-Water-cooled Reactor (SCWR), Very High-Temperature Reactor (VHTR)

• First Commercial Operation

  HTR-PM (China), December 2023

Timeline

• The term 'Generation IV reactor' refers to nuclear reactor technologies under development, intended to represent 'the future shape of nuclear energy'. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2000

• The European Commission launched the European Sustainable Nuclear Industrial Initiative (ESNII) to support Generation IV fast reactor projects. (Source: Web Search Results)

  2010-XX-XX

• Four nuclear research institutes and engineering companies from Central Europe's Visegrád Group of Nations (V4) established the V4G4 Centre of Excellence for joint research, development, and innovation in Generation IV nuclear reactors. (Source: Web Search Results)

  2013-XX-XX

• The World Nuclear Association suggested that some Generation IV reactors might enter commercial operation before 2030. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2015-XX-XX

• China's HTR-PM (a pebble-bed type high-temperature gas-cooled reactor) in Shidaowan, Shandong, was connected to the grid, becoming the world's first Gen IV reactor to enter commercial operation. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2023-12-XX

• China's first thorium molten salt nuclear power station is scheduled to be operational. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2029-XX-XX

Generation IV reactor

Generation IV (Gen IV) reactors are nuclear reactor design technologies that are envisioned as successors of generation III reactors. The Generation IV International Forum (GIF) – an international organization that coordinates the development of generation IV reactors – specifically selected six reactor technologies as candidates for generation IV reactors. The designs target improved safety, sustainability, efficiency, and cost. The World Nuclear Association in 2015 suggested that some might enter commercial operation before 2030. No precise definition of a Generation IV reactor exists. The term refers to nuclear reactor technologies under development as of approximately 2000, and whose designs were intended to represent 'the future shape of nuclear energy', at least at that time. The six designs selected were: the gas-cooled fast reactor (GFR), the lead-cooled fast reactor (LFR), the molten salt reactor (MSR), the sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR), the supercritical-water-cooled reactor (SCWR) and the very high-temperature reactor (VHTR). The sodium fast reactor has received the greatest share of funding that supports demonstration facilities. Moir and Teller consider the molten-salt reactor, a less developed technology, as potentially having the greatest inherent safety of the six models. The very-high-temperature reactor designs operate at much higher temperatures than prior generations. This allows for high temperature electrolysis or the sulfur–iodine cycle for the efficient production of hydrogen and the synthesis of carbon-neutral fuels. The majority of reactors in operation around the world are considered second generation and third generation reactor systems, as the majority of the first generation systems have been retired. China was the first country to operate a demonstration generation-IV reactor, the HTR-PM in Shidaowan, Shandong, which is a pebble-bed type high-temperature gas-cooled reactor. It was connected to the grid in December 2023, making it the world's first Gen IV reactor to enter commercial operation. In 2024, it was reported that China would also build the world’s first thorium molten salt nuclear power station, scheduled to be operational by 2029.

Web Search Results

• Generation IV reactor - Wikipedia

  Generation IV (Gen IV) reactors are nuclear reactor design technologies that are envisioned as successors of generation III reactors. The Generation IV International Forum (GIF) – an international organization that coordinates the development of generation IV reactors – specifically selected six reactor technologies as candidates for generation IV reactors. The designs target improved safety, sustainability, efficiency, and cost. The World Nuclear Association in 2015 suggested that some might [...] No precise definition of a Generation IV reactor exists. The term refers to nuclear reactor technologies under development as of approximately 2000, and whose designs were intended to represent 'the future shape of nuclear energy', at least at that time. The six designs selected were: the gas-cooled fast reactor (GFR), the lead-cooled fast reactor (LFR), the molten salt reactor (MSR), the sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR), the supercritical-water-cooled reactor (SCWR) and the very [...] The Gen IV SFR is a project that builds on the oxide fueled fast breeder reactor and the metal fueled integral fast reactor. Its goals are to increase the efficiency of uranium usage by breeding plutonium and eliminating transuranic isotopes. The reactor design uses an unmoderated core running on fast neutrons, designed to allow any transuranic isotope to be consumed (and in some cases used as fuel). SFR fuel expands when the reactor overheats, automatically slowing down the chain reaction,

• Generation IV Nuclear Reactors

  The aim of ESNII is to demonstrate Gen IV reactor technologies that can close the nuclear fuel cycle, provide long-term waste management solutions, and expand the applications of nuclear fission beyond electricity production to hydrogen production, industrial heat and desalination. ESNII is designed to combine European capabilities in fast neutron reactor R&D with industrial capability to build the prototypes and develop supporting infrastructure. [...] In mid-2013 four nuclear research institutes and engineering companies from central Europe’s Visegrád Group of Nations (V4) agreed to establish a centre for joint research, development and innovation in Generation IV nuclear reactors. The V4G4 Centre of Excellence was set up by scientific and research engineering company ÚJV Řež AS of the Czech Republic, the Academy of Sciences Centre for Energy Research of Hungary, Poland’s National Centre for Nuclear Research, and engineering company VUJE AS [...] The European Commission in 2010 launched the European Sustainable Nuclear Industrial Initiative (ESNII), which will support three Generation IV fast reactor projects as part of the EU’s plan to promote low-carbon energy technologies. Other initiatives supporting biomass, wind, solar, electricity grids and carbon sequestration are in parallel. ESNII was to take forward: the Astrid sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR) proposed by France for construction there, the Allegro gas-cooled fast reactor

• Generation IV Goals, Technologies and GIF R&D Roadmap

  All Generation IV systems aim at performance improvement, new applications of nuclear energy, and/or more sustainable approaches to the management of nuclear materials. High-temperature systems offer the possibility of efficient process heat applications and eventually hydrogen production. Enhanced sustainability is achieved primarily through the adoption of a closed fuel cycle including the reprocessing and recycling of plutonium, uranium and minor actinides in fast reactors and also through [...] With these goals in mind, some 100 experts evaluated 130 reactor concepts before GIF selected six reactor technologies for further research and development. These include the: Gas-cooled Fast Reactor (GFR), Lead-cooled Fast Reactor (LFR), Molten Salt Reactor (MSR), Supercritical Water-cooled Reactor (SCWR), Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor (SFR) and Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR). [...] Schematic of the Generation IV Nuclear Gas Fast Reactor System Schematic of a lead cooled fast nuclear reactor (LFR) Schematic of a molten salt nuclear reactor (MSR) Schematic view of a Super Critical Water Cooled nuclear Reactor (SCWR) Schematic of a sodium cooled fast nuclear reactor (SFR) Schematic view of a Very High Temperature nuclear Reactor (VHTR) Schematic of the Generation IV Nuclear Gas Fast Reactor System Schematic of a lead cooled fast nuclear reactor (LFR)

• 5 Advanced Reactor Designs to Watch in 2030 | Department of Energy

  multiple advanced reactor designs that offer improved safety, functionality and affordability, leading to expanded market opportunities for clean energy. Her office also sustains the nuclear talent pipeline through competitive university R&D and infrastructure investment programs. Ms. Caponiti serves as chair of the Generation IV International Forum Policy Group that advises on research and development needed to establish the feasibility and performance capabilities of the next-generation

• The next generation of nuclear reactors is getting more advanced ...

  # The next generation of nuclear reactors is getting more advanced. Here’s how. Alternative ways of powering, cooling, and constructing reactors could help get more nuclear energy on the grid. Kairos Power is among the companies working on alternative versions of nuclear reactor technology. This article is from The Spark, MIT Technology Review’s weekly climate newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Wednesday, sign up here. I’ve got nuclear power on the brain this week. [...] pieces, but let’s stick with two so you’re not reading this newsletter all day.) [...] Nuclear power plants generate electricity via fission reactions, where atoms split apart, releasing energy as heat and radiation. Neutrons released during these splits collide with other atoms and split them, creating a chain reaction.