Yacine Kadi Thorium Energy Conference 2013 Globe of Innovation, CERN, Switzerland October 31, 2013

Concerns on Conventional Nuclear Power Plants Safety  Accidents & Safety  Nuclear Proliferation  Accumulation of Radioactive Wastes  Depletion of Uranium Resources These problems need to be solved in order to be able to deploy nuclear power on a large scale

The path towards sustainability Nuclearwaste 400 – 800 GWe  Business as usual  Open fuel cycle 1200 GWe by 2030 / 7000 GWe by 2050  Accelerated alternative scenario  Only made possible by closing fuel cycle Commercial demos  Th-ADS by 2030  International initiative  iThEC

 Key objective is to encourage Transmutation of nuclear waste Thorium power generation  Actions : Organising conferences, addressing political and economic circles, the media and the public Fostering links between academia and private sector  Concrete steps : September 2012: iThEC founded as a non-profit organisation in Geneva. October 2013: Organization of ThEC13 Next step: by 2015 set up an international collaboration on an ADS for Thorium power and waste transmutation The role of iThEC

Partitioning &Transmutation P/T applies to TRU (Pu and Minor Actinides) and Long Lived Fission Products. It should be kept in mind that Plutonium is a special case: it can be considered as a valuable resource or part of the wastes. However, P/T technologies must apply to all fuel cycles.

The objectives of GEN-IV include P/T (waste minimization), as consistent with sustainability and non- proliferation: it is the path towards “Advanced Fuel Cycles”. Implementation: currently related to Fast Reactor deployment. However, ADS is the only option for Minor Actinide elimination Common Deployment Scenario2020 Implementation of MA partitioning Waste minimization (Vitrified FP)

Typical transmutation rates (~ 50 kg/TWh) using MA based fuels. Doping with Pu will sensibly decrease the transmutation efficiency of such systems MA Transmutation

Alternative Deployment ScenarioADS LWR with reduced waste generation 232 Th Nuclearwaste 232 Th+ 233 U STAGE 1 STAGE 2

Transmutation Rates

Reactivity Evolution of ThPu fuel

Three Stage Program in India Thorium in Centre Stage

Development is Time-Consuming

Fast track by Integration of Consolidated Technologies … by 2030 ! Technology of pyrochemical reprocessing of fuel Technologies of fast reactors with lead- bismuth coolant High power accelerators technology Liquid metal targets technology

R&D in Europe

Lead or Lead- Bismuth studies Eurotrans using the many loop facilities existing in Europe Japan, India and China, all have lead or LBE loops, and are making significant progress in corrosion issues (new materials, passivation methods, etc.) STELLA Loop CEA CIRCE Loop ENEA TALL Loop KTH CIRCO Loop CIEMAT CorrWett Loop PSI VICE Loop SCK-CEN CHEOPE Loop ENEA J-PARC China LBE loop: 550˚C, 6m 3 /h India (Shinian Fu, IHEP, Bejing

Worldwide Programs ProjectNeutron Source Core Purpose FEAT (CERN) Proton (0.6 to 2.75 GeV) (~10 10 p/s) Thermal (≈ 1 W) Reactor physics of thermal subcritical system (k≈0.9) with spallation source - done TARC (CERN) Proton (0.6 to 2.75 GeV) (~10 10 p/s) Fast (≈ 1 W) Lead slowing down spectrometry and transmutation of LLFP - done MUSE (France) DT (~10 10 n/s) Fast (< 1 kW) Reactor physics of fast subcritical system - done YALINA (Belorus) DT (~10 10 n/s) Fast (< 1 kW) Reactor physics of thermal & fast subcritical system - done MEGAPIE (Switzerland) Proton (600 Me) + Pb-Bi (1MW) Demonstration of 1MW target for short period - done TRADE (Italy) Proton (140 MeV) + Ta (40 kW) Thermal (200 kW) Demonstration of ADS with thermal feedback - cancelled TEF-P (Japan) Proton (600 MeV) + Pb-Bi (10W, ~10 12 n/s) Fast (< 1 kW) Coupling of fast subcritical system with spallation source including MA fuelled configuration - postponed SAD (Russia) Proton (660 MeV) + Pb-Bi (1 kW) Fast (20 kW) Coupling of fast subcritical system with spallation source - cancelled TEF-T (Japan) Proton (600 MeV) + Pb-Bi (200 kW) Dedicated facility for demonstration and accumulation of material data base for long term - postponed MYRRHA (Belgium) Proton (600 MeV) + Pb-Bi (1.8 MW) Fast (60 MW) Experimental ADS – under design

Th-ADS Demo Parameters Phase 1Phase 2Phase 3 Proton Driver Power 250 MeV*3 mA = 0.75 MWth 250 MeV*6 mA = 1.5 MWth 900 MeV*6 mA = 5.4 MWth Gain G Sub-criticality level, k Gain=Go/(1-k) Thermal Power Output MWth45 MWth540 MWth

By 2015, iThEC aims to set up an international collaboration to build a Thorium ADS In the two years to come, iThEC will identify material and financial resources and competencies on a world-wide basis iThEC will invite interested parties to join in this common undertaking The iThEC Initiative

Concluding remarks Accelerator-driven systems offers a unique level of safety, which give operational flexibility to future systems for safe and clean energy production and waste transmutation Present accelerator technology offers the possibility of closing the thorium fuel cycle. The Energy Amplifier is one of the examples with high potential iThEC aims to promote the deployment of these technologies

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