Energies for the 21St Century

THE collEcTion 1 w The atom 2 w Radioactivity 3 w Radiation and man 4 w Energy 5 w Nuclear energy: fusion and fission 6 w How a nuclear reactor works 7 w The nuclear fuel cycle 8 w Microelectronics 9 w The laser: a concentrate of light 10 w Medical imaging 11 w Nuclear astrophysics 12 w Hydrogen 13 w The Sun 14 w Radioactive waste 15 w The climate 16 w Numerical simulation 17 w Earthquakes 18 w The nanoworld 19 w Energies for the 21st century © French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, 2010 Communication Division Head Office 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette cedex - www.cea.fr ISSN 1637-5408. w Low-carbon energies for a sustainable future FROM RESEARCH TO INDUSTRY 19 w energies for the 21st century InnovatIng for nuclear energy DomestIcatIng solar power BIofuel proDuctIon DevelopIng BatterIes anD fuel cells thermonuclear fusIon 2 w contents century © Jack Star/PhotoLink st Innovating for nuclear ENERgY 6 The beginnings of nuclear energy in France 7 The third generation 8 Generation IV: new concepts 10 DEveloping batteries and fuel cells 25 Domesticating solar Lithium-ion batteries 26 pOwer 13 A different application for Thermal solar power 15 each battery 27 Photovoltaic solar power 16 Hydrogen: an energy carrier 29 Concentrated solar power 19 Thermonuclear fusion 31 BIOFUEL production 20 Tokamak research 33 Biomass 21 ITER project 34 Energies for the 21 2nd generation biofuels 22 Designed and produced by: MAYA press - Printed by: Pure Impression - Cover photo: © Jack Star/PhotoLink - Illustrations : YUVANOE - 09/2010 Low-carbon energies for a sustainable future 19 w Energies for the 21st century w> IntroIntroDuctIon 3 The depletion of fossil resources and global warming are encoura- ging the development of research into new energy technologies (on the left, Zoé, France’s first nuclear reactor, on the right, the national institute for solar power). © F.Vigouroux/CEA F.Vigouroux/CEA © © C.Morel/CEA © P.Dumas/CEA C.Morel/OurpolarHeritage/CEA or a century now, the ability to manage Climate and energy are closely intertwined and energy resources (coal, oil, gas and, to a the issues are global. As a result of the conclu- Fcertain extent, nuclear energy), has led to a sions of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate considerable increase living standards, especially Change (IPCC), the Kyoto protocol – which was in the developed countries. signed in 1997 – required 159 industrial- Between now and the year 2025, the world’s ised countries to reduce their GHG emissions population will rise from 6.7 to 8 billion hu- by 2012. In December 2008, the European man beings. Union signed the undertaking for the 20-20- The consumption of primary energy will rise from 20 targets by 2020: 20% renewable energies, 12 Gtoe to 17 Gtoe*. China and India alone 20% reduction in GHG, 20% greater energy will account for 40% of this growth. Fossil fuel efficiency, plus 10% biofuels. The energy mix energy stocks are estimated at 50 years for oil, will comprise fossil and nuclear energies plus 60 years for gas and uranium and 150 years for renewables: wind, hydro-electric, biofuels and coal. Emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) will geothermal. rise from 27 to 42 Gt.eq.CO2**. In France, three new technology platforms The world is therefore faced with a two-fold are being developed: the first concerns solar energy threat. Firstly, the threat of not having power, the second biofuels and the third marine sufficient, reliable supplies at acceptable prices power. (depletion of resources) and, secondly, the threat The CEA is associated with the first two. It is of damage to the environment (increased green- working in parallel on the topic of hydrogen as an house effect) through excessive consumption. energy carrier and on the storage of energy, while continuing with research into the fourth generation of nuclear reactors and fusion energy. * billion tons equivalent oil, see page 21 ** billion tons equivalent CO2 Low-carbon energies for a sustainable future 19 w Energies forfor the 21st century 4 w energIes for the 21st century THE ENERGY MIX FOR THE 2030 TIME-FRAME Hydroelectric dam Local control and communication centre Solar power plant supplying electricity Hydrogen distribution station Thermal power plant with CO2 sequestration Micro network HV grid Electricity transformer Low-carbon energies for a sustainable future 19 w Energies for the 21st century w energIes for the 21st century 5 Wind farm Wave energy Nuclear power Fuel cells and plant large-scale electricity storage Hydrogen production plant Solar panels and thermal storage Biomass plant producing heat, electricity and biofuels Photovoltaic solar panels and storage batteries Low-carbon energies for a sustainable future 19 w Energies for the 21st century 6 nuclear energy has Been useD for cIvIl purposes for half a century. the thIrD generatIon of reactors offers optImIseD use of resources. for the fourth generatIon, researchers are workIng on totally InnovatIve concepts. Innovating for nuclear energy OSIRIS EXPERIMENTAL REACTOR The nuclear reaction is characterised by the blue light due to the Cherenkov effect. © P. Allard/REA/CEA Low-carbon energies for a sustainable future 19 w Energies for the 21st century w InnovatIng for nuclear energy 7 ÉOLE REACTOR The operator is removing a fuel rod for spectrogamma- metry inspection. This very low power reactor is designed for neutron studies on moderated lattices, in particular those of industrial PWRs. NUCLEAR FUEL Uranium produces more energy than a fossil fuel (coal or oil), in fact, 10,000 times more. This ore cannot be used in its pure state and has to undergo a series of processing and © P.Stroppa/CEA enrichment operations before it can be used as fuel (see booklet entitled “The fuel cycle”). However, once it has been used in a reactor for Nuclear energy was born at the end of the 1930s, the first time, the fuel can then be reprocessed. with the discovery of the fission reaction. But it was The uranium and plutonium, which can still be used, are recovered in order to produce a new not until December 1953, with the world gripped fuel: MOX (Mixed Oxides). Since the 1990s, by the Cold War, that nuclear energy was first used EDF has been using MOX fuel in 20 pressurised for civil purposes. The American President, Dwight water reactors (PWR) around France. D. Eisenhower, urged the development of this new form of energy “to serve the peaceful pursuits of mankind” during his Atoms for Peace speech to the During the course of these sixty years, techno- United Nations. Other countries also followed suit at logical progress has led to improvements, cost the same time: Russia, France and Great Britain. reductions, greater electricity production and enhanced safety. Three generations of nuclear The begINNINgs of nuclear power reactors have thus succeeded each other, while a fourth is currently being studied. ENERgy in FRANCE Construction of the first generation of nuclear For its part, France initiated a nuclear power de- power plants started in 1956 and the last one velopment programme in 1945, when General was shut down in 1994. This natural uranium, de Gaulle created the Commissariat à l’énergie gas-graphite reactor (gas-cooled reactor – GCR) atomi que (French Atomic Energy Commission). Its had a capacity of 70 to 540 MWe. Construction aims were, and indeed still are, to meet the grow- of the second generation, using pressurised wa- ing need for electricity, with complete independ- ter reactors (PWR), started in France in 1977. ence and at low cost. This goal was made all the 58 of these reactors are still operating. They more pressing by the first oil crisis in 1956. provide greater power than the previous genera- Today, 76% of our country’s electricity is nuclear tion, from 900 to 1,450 MWe, depending on in origin. the plant unit. Low-carbon energies for a sustainable future 19 w Energies for the 21st century 8 w InnovatIng for nuclear energy CARTE DES UNITÉS ÉLECTRONUCLÉAIRES GRAVELINES MAP OF NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS PENLY GRAVELINECHOOZS EN FRANCE AU 01/01/2010 IN FRANCE ON 01/01/2010 PENLY CHOOZ PALUEL CATTENOM PALUEL CATTENOM NOGENT FLAMANVILLE SITUATION DES UNITÉS NOGENT Installées FLAMANVILLE STATUS OF PLANTEn constructionS BELLEVILLE InstalleTranched déclassée DAMPIERRE UnderArrêtée construction BELLEVILLE Decommissioned DAMPIERRE FESSENHEIM FILIÈREShut DE dowRÉACnTEUR MONTS D’ARREE UNGG Gaz - eau lourde FESSENHEIM REACTOR TECHNOLOGSurgénérateuYr BUGEY St LAURENMONTST D’ARREE GCRREP refroidissement circuit ouvert GasR –EP heavy refroidis watersement CREYS-MALVILLE BUGEY Fastcir breedercuit fermé (tours) CHINOSt LAURENN T PWR once-through PALIERcooling REP STANDARDISPWR closed-circuitÉ CRUAS CIVAUX CREYS-MALVILLE cooling34 - REP (towers 900 MW) e CHINON 20 - REP 1300 MWe 4 - N4 STANDARDISED PWR LE BLAYAIS TRICASTIN FLEET CRUAS CIVAUX 34 – 900 MWe PWR GOLFECH MARCOULE 20 – 1,300 MWe PWR St ALBAN, St MAURICE 4 - N4 LE BLAYAIS TRICASTIN GOLFECH MARCOULE St ALBAN, St MAURICE The third gENERATION standardised, which means that the cost per kWh2 produced is no more than three euro The third generation of nuclear reactors is the cents, hence the benefits to be gained from direct descendant of the PWR reactors of the following this management model; previous generation. • the fuel cycle, with better burnup fraction. Research and development work on this plant It will be easier to use MOX (a mixture of ura- series has enabled all stages of the energy pro- nium and plutonium) and reprocessed enriched duction process to be improved, ensuring that uranium, thereby optimising the basic fuel, it is both more economical and safer. uranium. In relation to the previous genera- Its design aims to achieve significant gains in tions, the uranium consumption savings are the following areas: estimated at 17%; • safety, for example by means of a double • the quantity of waste will be reduced by 15 to concrete containment with internal steel liner, 30%; a corium catcher under the reactor core; • electricity production will increase by 30% 1 High temperature • power: 1,600 MWe as op- per year; liquid mixture at posed to 1,450 for the PWR; • plant lifetimes will raise from 40 to 60 (2,500 to 3,000°C) consisting of materials • economic competitiveness years.

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