IAEA-TECDOC-1639 Assessment of Nuclear Energy Systems Based on a Closed Nuclear Fuel Cycle with Fast Reactors A report of the International Project on Innovative Nuclear Reactors and Fuel Cycles (INPRO) ASSESSMENT OF NUCLEAR ENERGY SYSTEMS BASED ON A CLOSED NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE WITH FAST REACTORS The following States are Members of the International Atomic Energy Agency: AFGHANISTAN GHANA NORWAY ALBANIA GREECE OMAN ALGERIA GUATEMALA PAKISTAN ANGOLA HAITI PALAU ARGENTINA HOLY SEE PANAMA ARMENIA HONDURAS PARAGUAY AUSTRALIA HUNGARY PERU AUSTRIA ICELAND PHILIPPINES AZERBAIJAN INDIA POLAND BAHRAIN INDONESIA PORTUGAL BANGLADESH IRAN, ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF QATAR BELARUS IRAQ REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA BELGIUM IRELAND ROMANIA BELIZE ISRAEL RUSSIAN FEDERATION BENIN ITALY SAUDI ARABIA BOLIVIA JAMAICA BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA JAPAN SENEGAL BOTSWANA JORDAN SERBIA BRAZIL KAZAKHSTAN SEYCHELLES BULGARIA KENYA SIERRA LEONE BURKINA FASO KOREA, REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE BURUNDI KUWAIT SLOVAKIA CAMBODIA KYRGYZSTAN SLOVENIA CAMEROON LATVIA SOUTH AFRICA CANADA LEBANON SPAIN CENTRAL AFRICAN LESOTHO SRI LANKA REPUBLIC LIBERIA SUDAN CHAD LIBYAN ARAB JAMAHIRIYA SWEDEN CHILE LIECHTENSTEIN SWITZERLAND CHINA LITHUANIA SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC COLOMBIA LUXEMBOURG TAJIKISTAN CONGO MADAGASCAR THAILAND COSTA RICA MALAWI THE FORMER YUGOSLAV CÔTE D’IVOIRE MALAYSIA REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA CROATIA MALI TUNISIA CUBA MALTA TURKEY CYPRUS MARSHALL ISLANDS UGANDA CZECH REPUBLIC MAURITANIA UKRAINE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC MAURITIUS UNITED ARAB EMIRATES OF THE CONGO MEXICO UNITED KINGDOM OF DENMARK MONACO GREAT BRITAIN AND DOMINICAN REPUBLIC MONGOLIA NORTHERN IRELAND ECUADOR MONTENEGRO EGYPT MOROCCO UNITED REPUBLIC EL SALVADOR MOZAMBIQUE OF TANZANIA ERITREA MYANMAR UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ESTONIA NAMIBIA URUGUAY ETHIOPIA NEPAL UZBEKISTAN FINLAND NETHERLANDS VENEZUELA FRANCE NEW ZEALAND VIETNAM GABON NICARAGUA YEMEN GEORGIA NIGER ZAMBIA GERMANY NIGERIA ZIMBABWE The Agency’s Statute was approved on 23 October 1956 by the Conference on the Statute of the IAEA held at United Nations Headquarters, New York; it entered into force on 29 July 1957. The Headquarters of the Agency are situated in Vienna. Its principal objective is “to accelerate and enlarge the contribution of atomic energy to peace, health and prosperity throughout the world’’. IAEA-TECDOC-1639 ASSESSMENT OF NUCLEAR ENERGY SYSTEMS BASED ON A CLOSED NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE WITH FAST REACTORS A REPORT OF THE INTERNATIONAL PROJECT ON INNOVATIVE NUCLEAR REACTORS AND FUEL CYCLES (INPRO) INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY VIENNA, 2010 COPYRIGHT NOTICE All IAEA scientific and technical publications are protected by the terms of the Universal Copyright Convention as adopted in 1952 (Berne) and as revised in 1972 (Paris). The copyright has since been extended by the World Intellectual Property Organization (Geneva) to include electronic and virtual intellectual property. Permission to use whole or parts of texts contained in IAEA publications in printed or electronic form must be obtained and is usually subject to royalty agreements. Proposals for non-commercial reproductions and translations are welcomed and considered on a case-by-case basis. Enquiries should be addressed to the IAEA Publishing Section at: Sales and Promotion, Publishing Section International Atomic Energy Agency Vienna International Centre PO Box 100 1400 Vienna, Austria fax: +43 1 2600 29302 tel.: +43 1 2600 22417 email: [email protected] http://www.iaea.org/books For further information on this publication, please contact: Nuclear Power Technology Development Section International Atomic Energy Agency Vienna International Centre PO Box 100 1400 Vienna, Austria email: [email protected] ASSESSMENT OF NUCLEAR ENERGY SYSTEMS BASED ON A CLOSED NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE WITH FAST REACTORS IAEA, VIENNA, 2010 IAEA-TECDOC-1639 ISBN 978-92-0-101410-8 ISSN 1011-4289 © IAEA, 2010 Printed by the IAEA in Austria January 2010 FOREWORD A Joint Study was started in 2005 and completed in 2007 within the International Project on Innovative Nuclear Reactors and Fuel Cycles (INPRO). Canada, China, France, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, and Ukraine participated in this study. The objectives were to assess a nuclear energy system based on a closed fuel cycle (CNFC) with fast reactors (FR) regarding its sustainability, determine milestones for the nuclear energy system deployment, and establish frameworks for, and areas of, collaborative R&D work. The assessment was carried out in accordance with the requirements of INPRO methodology and guiding documents of the Joint Study developed and approved by the participating parties (Canada and Ukraine participated in the discussions during the Joint Study, but did not contribute to the assessments themselves). The Joint Study was implemented in steps. In its first step, nominated experts, during the course of extensive discussions, analyzed the country/region/world context data; discussed national and global scenarios of introduction of the CNFC-FR systems; identified technologies suitable for the INS; and arrived at a broad definition of a common CNFC-FR system. In the second step, the participants of the study examined characteristics of CNFC-FR systems for compliance with criteria of sustainability developed in the INPRO methodology in the area of economics, safety, environment, waste management, proliferation resistance, and infrastructure. The results of the study were submitted to and endorsed by the INPRO Steering Committee in meetings held in Vienna 2005 – 2007. The authors of the Joint Study report highly appreciate the valuable comments provided by delegates of the INPRO Steering Committee meetings as well as the advice and assistance of the other experts. Due to the length of the Joint Study report, a summary of the results was produced, which is the content of this publication. The full text of the Joint Study report is available as IAEA working material. The IAEA officer responsible for this publication was R. Beatty of the Division of Nuclear Power. EDITORIAL NOTE The use of particular designations of countries or territories does not imply any judgement by the publisher, the IAEA, as to the legal status of such countries or territories, of their authorities and institutions or of the delimitation of their boundaries. The mention of names of specific companies or products (whether or not indicated as registered) does not imply any intention to infringe proprietary rights, nor should it be construed as an endorsement or recommendation on the part of the IAEA. CONTENTS SUMMARY...................................................................................................................... 1 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ 6 2 NATIONAL NUCLEAR ENERGY SCENARIOS ......................................................... 7 2.1. National nuclear energy scenario of China ............................................................. 7 2.2. National nuclear energy scenario of France............................................................ 9 2.3. National nuclear energy scenario of India............................................................. 10 2.4. National nuclear energy scenario of Japan............................................................ 11 2.5. National nuclear energy scenario of the Republic of Korea ................................. 13 2.6. National nuclear energy scenario of the Russian Federation ................................ 15 3 COMPARISON OF NATIONAL ENERGY SCENARIOS.......................................... 17 3.1. Comparison of primary energy resources and structures of power supply ........... 17 3.2. Comparison of national approaches for development of CNFC-FR..................... 19 3.3. Comparison of global and national scenarios of nuclear power development...... 23 4 ASSESSMENT OF A CNFC-FR SYSTEM USING THE INPRO METHODOLOGY.................................................................................... 25 4.1. Definition of a reference model of a fast reactor system ...................................... 25 4.2. Assessment of a CNFC-FR system in the INPRO area of economics .................. 29 4.3. Assessment of CNFC-FR in the INPRO area of infrastructure............................. 31 4.4. Assessment of CNFC-FR in the INPRO area of proliferation resistance ............. 33 4.5. Assessment of CNFC-FR in the INPRO area of environment.............................. 34 4.6. Assessment of CNFC-FR in the INPRO area of waste management.................... 38 4.7. Assessment of CNFC-FR in the INPRO area of safety......................................... 42 5 EXAMPLES OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT FOR CNFC-FR..................... 45 REFERENCES......................................................................................................................... 49 ANNEX: FEEDBACK ON INPRO METHODOLOGY......................................................... 51 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................................. 55 CONTRBUTORS TO THE JOINT STUDY........................................................................... 59 CONTRBUTORS TO DRAFTING AND REVIEW............................................................... 61 Summary The Joint Study was started in 2005 and completed in 2007. Canada, China, France, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, and Ukraine participated. The objectives were to: