Four U.S. nuclear energy firms have teamed to develop the basis for seeking an NRC design certification under 10CFR50 for the GE-Hitachi (GEH) PRISM advanced nuclear reactor. ( PDF slide deck)

Four U.S. nuclear energy firms have teamed to develop the basis for seeking an NRC design certification under 10CFR50 for the GE-Hitachi (GEH) PRISM advanced nuclear reactor. ( slide deck) Team members plan to seek DOE funding as part of a public / private partnership

The effort is being led by High Bridge Energy Development Co. with participation by GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH), Exelon Generation, and AEDCOM subsidiary URS Nuclear LLC

This is the second teaming arrangement by GEH for the PRISM reactor. In November 2016 GEH and Southern Nuclear agreed to work jointly on the development and licensing of the sodium-cooled fast reactor.

PRISM is a sodium-cooled, high-energy neutron (fast) reactor design. The PRISM design has benefited from the operating experience of EBR-II, an integral fast reactor prototype, which was developed by Argonne National Laboratory, and operated for more than 30 years at the Idaho National Laboratory near Idaho Falls, Idaho. (PDF Technical Brief)

“We believe that no U.S. fast spectrum reactor technology has more testing, design or operational basis than PRISM. PRISM is well positioned to provide a regulatory path for licensing and deployment of advanced reactor technology in the U.S,” said Steve Maehr, CEO of High Bridge Energy Development Company. (PDF Press Release)

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On the web – Licensing the Integral Fast Reactor / ANS Nuclear Café 11/02/2011

“What we know now is that there are no technical gaps that would preclude a licensing application if using known technology. Gaps might arise if a developer chooses to use a new fuel which would need testing. That process could be completed faster if simulation and modeling tools could be brought to bear on the problem.” – John Sackett

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PRISM Technology Profile

In its report on the GEH partnership with Southern Nuclear, World Nuclear News noted that Prism is a sodium-cooled fast neutron reactor design built on more than 30 years of development work. It benefitedng from the operating experience of the EBR-II prototype integral fast reactor which operated at the USA’s Idaho National Laboratory – formerly Argonne National Laboratory – from 1963 to 1994. According to GEH, the history, testing, design and operational experience underlying Prism makes the design well positioned to continue the licensing process. (Power Mag – History of the PRISM Concept)

Each Prism reactor has a rated thermal power of 840 MW and an electrical output of 311 MW. Two Prism reactors make up a power block, producing a combined total of 622 MW of electrical output.

Using passive safety, digital instrumentation and control, and modular fabrication techniques to expedite plant construction, the design uses metallic fuel, such as an alloy of zirconium, uranium, and plutonium. It can therefore be used to close the nuclear fuel cycle, recycling used nuclear fuel to generate energy.

According to GEH, commercialized Prism technology could be used eventually to consume all the nuclear material contained in the world’s used nuclear fuel. Assuming 178,000 tonnes of nuclear material are contained in worldwide stocks of nuclear fuel and a per household consumption of 3400 kWh per year, the company claims this could provide enough energy to power the world’s households for up to 200 years.

Reducing the UK Plutonium Stockpile

GEH has proposed the Prism reactor as a possible option for managing the UK’s plutonium stockpile. In 2013 The Engineer, a UK publication, provided its readers with a detailed walkthrough of the PRISM proposal to the Nuclear Decomissioning Authority (NDA).

The UK has a lot of plutonium — the largest civil stockpile in the world, totaling some 112 tonnes, most of it from reprocessing spent fuel over the years. The question of what to do with Britain’s plutonium has vexed subsequent governments for decades.

GE offered PRISM technology to the UK because it believes it offers a better way of treating the plutonium than converting it into MOX. Britain’s plutonium stockpile is complicated as not every storage canister contains the same isotope of plutonium.

Different reactor processes produce different isotopes; and this poses problems for converting the fuel into MOX, because isotopes have to be selected carefully.

The article goes on to describe the fuel fabrication process as proposed by GEH. Readers are referred to the cited URL above for a longer explanation of the process.

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