Small PWRs using coated particle fuel for district heating, PFPWR50

It has been said that nuclear energy is an important option for especially developing countries to satisfy their increasing energy demand. However, it will be difficult to deploy first of a kind nuclear power plant in developing countries because extensive safety demonstration has to be conducted in industrialized countries. On the other hand, it will be essential to present rigid proof of reliable operational experience to develop proper understanding of the safety features of new reactor systems among the people around the demonstration plant sites. One of the ways to solve the issue is to integrate existing technologies supported by a great deal of data and experience into a new reactor design. Based on the consideration, a small-sized district heating reactor system based on the pressurized water reactor (PWR) technologies combined with the fuel concept of high temperature gas cooled reactors (HTGRs) has been studied. The purpose of the combination of these two existing concepts is to take the best advantages of both excellent operational experience of PWRs and the integrity of HTGR fuel, coated particle fuel, against fission products release even at high temperature. We expect that this approach will help create a breakthrough to the current stagnation of nuclear power deployment.