In Japan, JAEA\u2019s High-Temperature Engineering Test Reactor (HTTR) was approved under the new regulatory standards in July 2021, and the facility resumed operation after ten and a half years. Multiple industrial uses are expected for the reactor, including the production of hydrogen using thermochemical water splitting (the so-called IS process).<\/p>\n
Also resumed was an international joint research project under the OECD\/NEA (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development\/Nuclear Energy Agency), carried out since 2009.<\/p>\n
Regarding the inherent safety of HTGRs, it was confirmed in March 2024 that the HTTR\u2019s output decreases naturally and the reactor remains stable even in the extreme case of a total loss of cooling during operation at 100% power.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, in the UK, an HTGR demonstration reactor program was started in September 2022 toward the achievement of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. The fuel program has progressed to Step 1 (to be completed next year), which involves the development of technology to fabricate fuel.<\/p>\n
In July 2023, the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) announced that NNL had been selected as the project entity to implement Step 1 of the demo HTGR in collaboration with JAEA. Two months later, in September 2023, JAEA and NNL signed a comprehensive memorandum to accelerate R&D and related activities toward the early deployment of HTGRs.<\/p>\n
In the UK program, Step 1 and subsequent stages of the fuel program will advance to the phase of substantiating HTGR operations in the early 2030s.<\/p>\n
Japan expects to secure diverse fuel suppliers for its own demonstration HTGR through the development of technology for fuel fabrication in the UK.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In Japan, JAEA\u2019s High-Temperature Engineering Test Reactor (HTTR) was approved under the new regulatory standards in July 2021, and the facility resumed operation after ten and a half years. Multiple industrial uses are expected for the reactor, including the production of hydrogen using thermochemical water splitting (the so-called IS process). Also resumed was an international […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":7074,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,1],"tags":[557,417,59,986,960,967,387],"class_list":["post-7073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry","category-news","tag-htgr","tag-httr","tag-jaea","tag-memorandum","tag-nnl","tag-oecd-nea","tag-uk"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t