A Fourth-
Generation
Technology
By Eric Loewen, GE Hitachi Nuclear
Energy.
Eric Loewen
Since 2006, Dr. Loewen has guided
GEH’s technical efforts for deployment
of the PRISM
integral fast reactor.
His US Navy service
included Instructor
at Nuclear Power
School, and Quality
Control Officer
and Senior Reactor
Operator in USS
Long Beach (CGN-
9). As Science and
Technology Advisor
to the Congress and
aide to then-Senator
Chuck Hagel, he
integrated nuclear
power into the U.S.
Energy Policy Act
2005. From June 2011-June 2012 Eric
served as President of the American
Nuclear Society (ANS).
Responses to questions by Newal
Agnihotri, Editor of Nuclear Plant
Journal.
1.
What is the evaluation status of
PRISM by NDA?
PRISM (Power Reactor Inherently
Safe Module) is a high energy, sodium-
cooled reactor that uses proven, safe
and advanced technologies to create
an innovative solution to harness the
remaining energy potential of used
nuclear fuel and surplus plutonium.
In January 2014, following a two-
year review process, the UK Nuclear
Decommissioning Authority (NDA)
declared that PRISM’s fourth generation
nuclear power technology is a “credible
option” for managing the UK’s plutonium
stockpile.
We continue to work with the NDA
to further develop
their understanding
of the technology as a
credible option.
2.
What are the past
and current applica-
tions of PRISM?
PRISM is based
on the successful
EBR II reactor that
began operating in
1964. GE started to
work on PRISM tech-
nology in 1981 and
in 1984 the U.S. gov-
ernment, through the
U.S. Department of
Energy funded the Advanced Liquid Met-
al Reactor program at the Argonne Na-
tional Laboratory. The goal of the physi-
cists and engineers who worked on this
program was to mitigate concerns associ-
ated with nuclear power including waste,
economics, proliferation and fuel supply.
The 10-year program was unique in that
it involved U.S.-owned companies, in-
cluding GE, all working with the national
laboratories to come up with an advanced
nuclear reactor design that would lead to
a new, safer and more secure approach to
nuclear energy. After 30 years of develop-
ment, the technology utilized by PRISM
is ready to be commercialized and can be
made operational within a time period
that is competitive with other potential
plutonium reuse options.
Recycling used nuclear fuel
with PRISM is calculated to make
approximately 95 percent more energy
available from uranium than current
conventional reactors. At the same time,
extracting this energy makes used nuclear
fuel easier to dispose of and safer over the
longer term. Finally, PRISM is uniquely
suited to the disposition of plutonium
stockpiles thereby making the world
more secure from nuclear proliferation
concerns. A single nuclear power plant
technology, PRISM, can concurrently
increase the world’s supply of low-
carbon electricity, address the nuclear
waste issue and improve nuclear security.
3.
What are its abilities to be used
for (e.g. power generation, hydrogen
generation, desalination plant, district
heating, any other applications)?
PRISM is designed to have many
applications
including
plutonium
disposition and electricity generation.
PRISM has a rated thermal power of 840
MW and an electrical output of 311 MW.
Two PRISM reactors make up a power
block that combined produce 622 MW
of electrical output. Of course low cost
electricity opens the door to many other
possible applications.
4.
Is there any collaboration with
international Gen IV effort?
GE Hitachi encourages industry
involvement of US companies in
government-led international programs
that promote advanced nuclear technology
such as the Gen IV effort.
5.
Has PRISM been proposed for
any applications at Fukushima Daiichi
nuclear power plant?
Our joint venture partner Hitachi
continues to assist TEPCO. We believe
the fuel technologies associated with the
PRISM reactor design would be ideal
to treat damaged oxide cores initially
cooled with seawater by stabilizing the
radioactivity in a robust ceramic and
metallic waste form.
6.
Who are the vendors collaborating
for engineering, construction and
manufacturing in the United Kingdom?
Who is supplying the digital equipment,
including the control room?
In April 2012 we conducted a
supplier conference and met face-to-
face with a number of talented and
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NuclearPlantJournal.com Nuclear Plant Journal, July-August 2014
