Argonne National Laboratory has teamed up with the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) to develop the Prototype Generation-IV Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor. KAERI’s Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor Development Agency has provided $6.78 million funding to date for Argonne’s contributions through a Work-for-Others contract. Pictured are Jong Kyung Kim (left), President of KAERI, and Peter Littlewood, Argonne Laboratory Director, during a signing ceremony at Argonne.
LEMONT, Ill. – The U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory has teamed up with the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) to develop the Prototype Generation-IV Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor (PGSFR). KAERI’s Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor Development Agency has provided $6.78 million funding to date for Argonne’s contributions through a Work-for-Others contract.
Jong Kyung Kim, President of KAERI, visited Argonne today to execute the memorandum of understanding between KAERI and Argonne for a broad field of technical cooperation on nuclear science and technology, including the PGSFR project. “The technical cooperation between KAERI and Argonne plays a critical role in advancing cutting-edge technologies in nuclear energy,” said Argonne Director Peter Littlewood.
The PGSFR is a 400 MWth, 150 MWe advanced sodium-cooled fast reactor that incorporates many innovative design features; in particular, metal fuel, which enables inherent safety characteristics. With Argonne support, KAERI is developing the reactor system while the Korean engineering and construction firm KEPCO E&C is designing the balance of the plant. The PGSFR Project aims to secure the Korean licensing authority’s design approval by the end of 2020, and the schedule calls for PGSFR to be commissioned by the end of 2028.
The metal fuel technology base was developed at Argonne in the 1980s and ‘90s; its inherent safety potential was demonstrated in the landmark tests conducted on the Experimental Breeder Reactor-II in April 1986. They demonstrated the safe shutdown and cooling of the reactor without operator action following a simulated loss-of-cooling accident.
“We are very excited about our collaboration on the PGSFR,” said Mark Peters, Argonne’s Associate Laboratory Director for Energy Engineering and Systems Analysis. “PGSFR is the world’s first new fast reactor that will use the technology developed at Argonne, and also the world’s first fast reactor that exploits inherent safety characteristics to prevent severe accidents.”
The Argonne-KAERI collaboration on PGSFR was established following the U.S. Government authorization of the 10 CFR Part 810 request to transfer sodium-cooled fast reactor and low-enriched uranium fuel technology to the Republic of Korea.
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