The successful start up of the China Experimental Fast Reactor (CEFR) marked a breakthrough in China's fourth generation nuclear technology, and made China the eighth country in the world to own the technology, Zhang Donghui, general manager of the CEFR project.
The goal is to eventually produce fast reactors which burn 70% of the fuel.
Compared with the third generation reactors which have an utility rate of uranium of just one percent, CEFR boasts an utility rate of more than 60 percent. A new recycling technology called pyroprocessing is also used to close the fuel cycle by separating the unused fuel from most of the radioactive waste
A 600 MWe prototype fast reactor is envisaged by 2020 and there are outline plans for a 1500 MWe version by 2030.
The 65 MW CEFR sodium-cooled, pool-type fast reactor was constructed with some Russian assistance at the China Institute of Atomic Energy (CIEA), near Beijing
Fast Reactor design strategy for china
On the first pass the max burn rate for this reactor is 100 GWd/t and for the planned later versions up to 150 GWd/t. There would be offsite pyroprocessing to close the fuel cycle.
With uranium production expected to rise to 55,000 tons from 50,772 tons last year, according to data from the World Nuclear Association.
Demand is expected to increase by 46 percent over the next decade, mainly driven by China, according to CRU. "China's propensity for heavy and early stockpiling will also influence the market," Schodde said in the presentation.
Supplies from dismantled nuclear weapons and other sources not directly from mines will fall to 13 percent of demand by 2020 from 27 percent last year, he said.
As predicted by NextBigFutures Brian Wang, AKA advancednano
Our current administration may want to ask Clinton why we are not 'using now technology' to reprocess our mountains of radioactive waste and stockpiled material? Hint, had we started it then, there would not be a billions in a hole with no future now...