Generation III reactor

A Generation III reactor is a development of Generation II nuclear reactor designs incorporating evolutionary improvements in design developed during the lifetime of the Generation II reactor designs. These include improved fuel technology, superior thermal efficiency, significantly enhanced safety systems (including passive nuclear safety), and standardized designs for reduced maintenance and capital costs. The first Generation III reactor to begin operation was Kashiwazaki 6 (an ABWR) in 1996.

Model of the Toshiba ABWR, which became the first operational Generation III reactor in 1996.

Due to the prolonged period of stagnation in the construction of new reactors and the continued (but declining) popularity of Generation II/II+ designs in new construction, relatively few third generation reactors have been built. Generation IV designs are still in development as of 2020.

Overview

Though the distinction is arbitrary, the improvements in reactor technology in third generation reactors are intended to result in a longer operational life (designed for 60 years of operation, extendable to 100+ years of operation prior to complete overhaul and reactor pressure vessel replacement) compared with currently used Generation II reactors (designed for 40 years of operation, extendable to 60+ years of operation prior to complete overhaul and pressure vessel replacement).[1][2]

The core damage frequencies for these reactors are designed to be lower than for Generation II reactors – 60 core damage events for the EPR and 3 core damage events for the ESBWR[3] per 100 million reactor-years are significantly lower than the 1,000 core damage events per 100 million reactor-years for BWR/4 Generation II reactors.[3]

The third generation EPR reactor was also designed to use uranium more efficiently than older Generation II reactors, using approximately 17% less uranium per unit of electricity generated than these older reactor technologies.[4] An independent analysis conducted by environmental scientist Barry Brook on the greater efficiency and therefore lower material needs of Gen III reactors, corroborates this finding.[5]

Response and criticism
EPR core catching room designed to catch the corium in case of a meltdown. Some Generation III reactors include a core catcher in their design.

Proponents of nuclear power and some who have historically been critical have acknowledged that third generation reactors as a whole are safer than older reactors.

Edwin Lyman, a senior staff scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists, has challenged specific cost-saving design choices made for two Generation III reactors, both the AP1000 and ESBWR. Lyman, John Ma (a senior structural engineer at the NRC), and Arnold Gundersen (an anti-nuclear consultant) are concerned about what they perceive as weaknesses in the steel containment vessel and the concrete shield building around the AP1000 in that its containment vessel does not have sufficient safety margins in the event of a direct airplane strike.[6][7] Other engineers do not agree with these concerns, and claim the containment building is more than sufficient in safety margins and factors of safety.[7][8]

The Union of Concerned Scientists in 2008 referred to the EPR as the only new reactor design under consideration in the United States that "...appears to have the potential to be significantly safer and more secure against attack than today's reactors."[9]:7

There have also been issues in fabricating the precision parts necessary to maintain safe operation of these reactors, with cost overruns, broken parts, and extremely fine steel tolerances causing issues with new reactors under construction in France at the Flamanville Nuclear Power Plant.[10]

Existing and future reactors

The first Generation III reactors were built in Japan, in the form of Advanced Boiling Water Reactors. In 2016 a Generation III+ VVER-1200/392M reactor became operational at Novovoronezh Nuclear Power Plant II in Russia, which was the first operational Generation III+ reactor.[11] Several other Generation III+ reactors are under late-stage construction in Europe, China, India, and the United States. The next Generation III+ reactor to come online is a Westinghouse AP1000 reactor, the Sanmen Nuclear Power Station in China, which was scheduled to become operational in 2015.[12] It has been completed and achieved criticality on June 21, 2018, and entered into commercial operation on September 21, 2018.

In the United States, reactor designs are certified by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). As of October 2014 the commission has approved five designs, and is considering another five designs as well.[13]

Generation III reactors

Generation III reactors currently operational or under construction
Developer(s) Reactor name(s) Type MWe (net) MWe (gross) MWth Notes
General Electric, Toshiba, Hitachi ABWR;
US-ABWR		 BWR 1350 1420 3926 In operation at Kashiwazaki since 1996. NRC certified in 1997.[9]
KEPCO APR-1400 PWR 1383 1455 3983 In operation at Kori since Jan 2016.
CGNPG ACPR-1000 1061 1119 2905 Improved version of the CPR-1000. First reactor is due to come online in 2018 at Yangjiang-5.
CGNPG, CNNC Hualong One (HPR-1000) 1090 1170 3050 In part a merger of the Chinese ACPR-1000 and ACP-1000 designs, but ultimately an incrementally developed improvement on the prior CNP-1000 and CP-1000 designs.[14] It was initially intended to be named the "ACC-1000", but was ultimately named as the "Hualong One" or "HPR-1000". Fangchenggang Units 3–6 will be the first to utilize the HPR-1000 design, with Units 3 & 4 currently under construction as of 2017.[15]
OKBM Afrikantov VVER-1000/428 990 1060 3000 First version of the AES-91 design, designed and used for Tianwan Units 1 & 2, which came online in 2007.
VVER-1000/428M 1050 1126 3000 Another version of the AES-91 design, also designed and used for Tianwan (this time for Units 3 & 4, which came online in 2017 and 2018, respectively).
VVER-1000/412 917 1000 3000 First constructed AES-92 design, used for the Kudankulam.

Generation III designs not adopted or built yet
Developer(s) Reactor name(s) Type MWe (net) MWe (gross) MWth Notes
General Electric, Hitachi ABWR-II BWR 1638 1717 4960 Improved version of the ABWR. Uncertain development status.
Mitsubishi APWR;
US-APWR;
EU-APWR;
APWR+		 PWR 1600 1700 4451 Two units planned at Tsuruga cancelled in 2011. US NRC licensing for two units planned at Comanche Peak was suspended in 2013. The original APWR and the updated US-APWR/EU-APWR (also known as the APWR+) differ significantly in their design characteristics, with the APWR+ having higher efficiency and electrical output.
Westinghouse AP600 600 619 ? NRC certified in 1999.[9] Evolved into the larger AP1000 design.[16]
Combustion Engineering System 80+ 1350 1400 ? NRC certified in 1997.[9] Provided a basis for the Korean APR-1400.[17]
OKBM Afrikantov VVER-1000/466(B) 1011 1060 3000 This was the first AES-92 design to be developed, originally intended to be built at the proposed Belene Nuclear Power Plant, but construction was later halted.
Candu Energy Inc. EC6 PHWR ? 750 2084 The EC6 (Enhanced CANDU 6) is an evolutionary upgrade of previous CANDU designs. Like other CANDU designs, it is capable of using unenriched natural uranium as fuel.
AFCR ? 740 2084 The Advanced Fuel CANDU Reactor is a modified EC6 design that has been optimized for extreme fuel flexibility with the ability to handle numerous potential reprocessed fuel blends and even thorium. It is currently undergoing late-stage development as part of a joint venture between SNC-Lavalin, CNNC, and Shanghai Electric.
Various (see MKER Article.) MKER BWR 1000 ? 2085 A Development of the RBMK nuclear power reactor. Fixes all of the RBMK reactor's design errors and flaws and adds a full containment building and Passive nuclear safety features such as a passive core cooling system. The physical prototype of the MKER-1000 is the 5th unit of the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant. The construction of Kursk 5 was cancelled in 2012 and a VVER-TOI whose construction is ongoing since 2018 is being built instead as of 2018.[18][19][20](see RBMK article)

Generation III+ reactors
Novovoronezh Nuclear Power Plant II with the first Generation III+ nuclear reactor in the world
Kakrapar Atomic Power Station Unit 3 and 4 under construction. India's first Generation III+ reactor

Gen III+ reactor designs are an evolutionary development of Gen III reactors, offering improvements in safety over Gen III reactor designs. Manufacturers began development of Gen III+ systems in the 1990s by building on the operating experience of the American, Japanese, and Western European light-water reactor.

The nuclear industry began to promote a nuclear renaissance suggesting that Gen III+ designs should solve three key problems: safety, cost and buildability. Construction costs of US$1,000/kW were forecast, a level that would make nuclear competitive with gas, and construction times of four years or less were expected. However, these estimates proved over-optimistic.

A notable improvement of Gen III+ systems over second-generation designs is the incorporation in some designs of passive safety features that do not require active controls or operator intervention but instead rely on gravity or natural convection to mitigate the impact of abnormal events.

Generation III+ reactors incorporate extra safety features to avoid the kind of disaster suffered at Fukushima in 2011. Generation III+ designs, passive safety, also known as passive cooling, requires no sustained operator action or electronic feedback to shut down the plant safely in the event of an emergency. Many of the Generation III+ nuclear reactor have a core catcher. If the fuel cladding and reactor vessel systems and associated piping become molten, corium will fall into a core catcher which holds the molten material and has the ability to cool it. This, in turn protects the final barrier, the containment building. As an example, Rosatom installed a 200-tonne core catcher in VVER reactor as the first large piece of equipment in the reactor building of Rooppur 1, describing it as "a unique protection system".[21][22] In 2017, Rosatom has started commercial operations of the NVNPP-2 Unit 1 VVER-1200 reactor in central Russia, marking the world's first full start-up of a generation III+ reactor.[23]

Generation III+ reactors currently operational or under construction
Developer(s) Reactor name(s) Type MWe (net) MWe (gross) MWth 1st grid connection Notes
Westinghouse, Toshiba AP1000 PWR 1117 1250 3400 2018-06-30 Sanmen[24] NRC certified Dec 2005.[9]
SNPTC, Westinghouse CAP1400 1400 1500 4058 The first Chinese co-developed and upsized "native" version/derivative of the AP1000. Westinghouse's co-development agreement gives China the IP rights for all co-developed plants >1350 MWe. First two units currently under construction at Shidao Bay. The CAP1400 is planned to be followed by a CAP1700 and/or a CAP2100 design if the cooling systems can be scaled up by far enough.
Areva EPR 1660 1750 4590 2018-06-29 Taishan[25]
OKB Gidropress VVER-1200/392M 1114 1180 3200 2016-08-05 Novovoronezh II[26][27] The VVER-1200 series is also known as the AES-2006/MIR-1200 design. This particular model was the original reference model used for the VVER-TOI project.
VVER-1200/491 1085 1199 3200 2018-03-09 Leningrad II[28]
VVER-1200/509 1114 1200 3200 Under construction in Akkuyu 1.
VVER-1200/523 1080 1200 3200 2.4 GWe Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant of Bangladesh is under construction.The two units of VVER- 1200/523 generating 2.4 GWe are planned to be operational in 2023 and 2024.[29]
VVER-1200/513 ? 1200 3200 Standardized version of the VVER-1200 based in part on the VVER-1300/510 design (which is the current reference design for the VVER-TOI project). First unit expected to be completed by 2022 at Akkuyu.
BARC IPHWR-700 PHWR 630 700 2166 2021 Successor of indigenous 540MWe PHWR with increased output and additional safety features. Under construction and due to come online in 2020. Unit 3 at Kakrapar Atomic Power Station achieved first criticality on 22 July 2020. The Unit 3 was connected to the grid on 10 January 2020.[30]

Generation III+ designs not adopted or built yet
Developer(s) Reactor name(s) Type MWe (net) MWe (gross) MWth Notes
Toshiba EU-ABWR BWR ? 1600 4300 Updated version of the ABWR designed to meet EU guidelines, increase reactor output, and improve design generation to III+.
Areva Kerena 1250 1290 3370 Previously known as the SWR-1000. Based on German BWR designs, mainly that of Gundremmingen units B/C. Co-developed by Areva and E.ON.
Areva, Mitsubishi ATMEA1 1150 ? 3150 Proposed Sinop plant did not proceed
General Electric, Hitachi ESBWR 1520 1600 4500 Based on the ABWR. Being considered for North Anna-3. Eschews the use of recirculation pumps entirely in favor of a design completely reliant on natural circulation (which is very unusual for a boiling water reactor design).
KEPCO APR+ PWR 1505 1560 4290 APR-1400 successor with increased output and additional safety features.
OKB Gidropress VVER-1300/510 1115 1255 3300 The VVER-1300 design is also known as the AES-2010 design, and is sometimes mistakenly designated as the VVER-TOI design. The VVER-1300/510 is based on the VVER-1200/392M that was originally used as the reference design for the VVER-TOI project, although the VVER-1300/510 now serves that role (which has led to confusion between the VVER-TOI plant design and the VVER-1300/510 reactor design). Multiple units are currently planned for construction at several Russian nuclear plants.
VVER-600/498 ? 600 1600 Essentially a scaled-down VVER-1200. Commercial deployment planned by 2030 at Kola.
Candu Energy Inc. ACR-1000 PHWR 1085 1165 3200 The Advanced CANDU Reactor is a hybrid CANDU design that retains the heavy water moderator but replaces the heavy water coolant with conventional light water coolant, significantly reducing costs compared to traditional CANDU designs but losing the characteristic CANDU capability of using unenriched natural uranium as fuel.

See also

References
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  2. "Advanced Nuclear Power Reactors | Generation III+ Nuclear Reactors - World Nuclear Association". www.world-nuclear.org. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  3. Next-generation nuclear energy: The ESBWR
  4. page 126. 3 Rs of Nuclear Power: Reading, Recycling, and Reprocessing Making a Better ... By Jan Forsythe
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  25. http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NN-Chinas-Taishan-1-reactor-connected-to-grid-29061801.html
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