Reaction to change

While the nuclear industry is preparing for new-build to meet a looming energy gap, researchers have their eyes on the future. Although the next-generation power stations will be far more advanced than their predecessors, they will be based on the same reactor technology.

In the coming decades there are likely to be huge changes in how we think of energy — not just electricity but all the ways that we generate and use heat. Nuclear power could have a far wider range of applications than its current uses for baseline electricity generation and as a power plant in naval vessels. It could also form the basis for the shift from fossil fuel-based to hydrogen-based transport.

For this, new types of nuclear reactors will be needed. The existing generation of commercial reactors, mostly based around pressurised water cooling technology, are fine for power generation. The likely candidates for the new build of nuclear power now mooted have similar reactor systems to their predecessors, with refinements to reduce cost and improved safety features. But they are optimised to work non-stop at full capacity and have no function other than to raise the temperature of water high enough to run a steam turbine. Future reactors will have to be far more versatile.