International Conference on Nuclear Engineering (ICONE): Young Member viewpoint from Ben Mills-Wallace
ICONE is held over the course of a week and almost 1000 delegates attended the conference and over 700 individual presentations were given. A wide range of topics were discussed in these sessions, covering technical, political and commercial aspects relevant to the nuclear industry.
The first day consisted of the opening session followed by a series of plenary sessions. The purpose of these sessions was to set the scene for the week, with each of the three sponsoring companies - The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers and the Chinese Nuclear Society - giving short presentations on the current status of the nuclear industry in their respective countries. These were complemented by a number of industry experts, giving their perspective on the nuclear industry as a whole.
One of the most interesting aspects to come from these presentations was Japan’s future view on nuclear power. Prior to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in March 2011, 25% of Japan’s energy mix came from nuclear, however immediately after this it dropped to just 1%. Yet the Japanese government made a decision in 2018 that nuclear power was an essential way of reaching their low carbon limits, and so by 2030 it is anticipated that the amount of electricity generation from nuclear power will increase to ~21%. This is a surprising change in attitude, but can be understood by realising how much effort the nuclear sector has placed since the Fukushima accident on ensuring safety is the predominant design feature in new plant designs.
Another large area of interest during the week was the development of advanced reactor designs. These can be broadly classified as one of either two categories: large Generation III+ reactor designs (generally 1000 MWe or greater) or Small Modular Reactor (SMR) designs (generally 300 MWe or less). An interesting panel session was held on the last day of the conference discussing these advanced reactors, and it was clear to see that a huge amount of Research and Development (R&D) money is being invested in this area globally.
China in particular is investing very large sums of money in all forms of advanced reactor technology, particular in the areas of SMRs and using supercritical carbon dioxide as a heat transfer fluid.
The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is now in the process of reviewing a number of these SMR designs. However during a talk given by the NRC, it was highlighted that one of the biggest issues with SMRs as a concept is how the regulatory framework for licensing of these reactors will work. Both the NRC in the US and the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) in the UK are working closely with reactor design companies to understand how this would be managed for SMRs in the future. For the UK this is hugely important, as this is a key catalyst for realising the aims set out in the Nuclear Sector Deal which was launched in June 2018.
Overall, attendance at ICONE 27 provided a good opportunity to understand the nuclear sector as a whole, particularly the global nuclear strategy. I’d like to thank the IMechE for allowing me this opportunity and look forward to working with the Engineering Policy Unit more in the future.
Policy focus, by Matt Rooney, IMechE Engineering Policy Adviser
ICONE is the perfect place to assess the state of the nuclear industry worldwide. The rise of China as the major player in the global nuclear industry was again apparent this year, with half the conference’s 1000 delegates being from the country, but others are beginning to take an interest. Of the 55 nuclear power plants under construction today, nine are in countries that have never had one before.
With Japan hosting the 2019 conference, there was a strong focus on safety. The industry is still in recovery following the 2011 Fukushima disaster, with only nine reactors out of 57 having restarted since the accident. Twenty one have been permanently decommissioned, whilst the remainder are undergoing rigorous safety assessments that must be passed before being allowed to come back online.
However, despite the negative commercial environment, there remains an impressive R&D programme in the country. Noriaki Ozawa, Director-General for Energy and Environmental Policy at the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, said that Japan’s nuclear energy policy is still to develop fast reactors that can close the fuel cycle and dispose of high level waste. Their 2016 Strategy Roadmap set out the steps they will take to produce commercial fast reactors by 2050. Hikoki Megafane, from the Japan Atomic Energy Agency, set out their three-phase plan. The first five years will consist of competition between vendors to determine the best design(s). In 2024 they will narrow the focus to one technology, and then this will be followed by a development programme to extensively explore the engineering issues involved in a full roll-out.
Despite this longer term fast reactor policy, Japanese company Hitachi-GE have not given up on conventional light water reactors. With the BWXR, they are aiming to produce ‘the most economical light water reactor in the world’. This is a new design, but largely based on existing technology in order to bring down costs. For example, they claim a 50% reduction in concrete requirements compared to an equivalent existing reactor.
This twin approach of aiming to bring down costs of light water reactors and the development of advanced technologies - “Evolutionary Gen-III” versus “Innovative Gen-IV” as one speaker put it - mirrors the UK’s current approach. Rolls-Royce are leading a consortium that is aiming to bring down the cost of nuclear power through a small modular reactor development programme based on proven technology, whilst the Government have already selected eight companies to produce feasibility studies for the development of advanced modular reactors. Seven of these are nuclear fission technologies and one is fusion: Tokam2ak Energy, who the IMechE have invested in through our Stephenson Fund.
In total there are said to be over 50 designs of small modular reactor under development worldwide. Only three are currently under construction, however. The 25 MWe CAREM integral SMR in Argentina, China’s ACP100, and Russia’s KLT-40. The KLT-40 is interesting as it will be the world’s first ‘floating’ nuclear power plant. It will be moored in the port of Pevek and will power the whole city.
A relatively optimistic outlook at the conference was tempered by a warning about a looming skills shortage. In Japan and America, data presented suggested that there had been a steep drop in students studying nuclear engineering since the 2011 accident at Fukushima. If the many advanced reactors under development are ever going to be built in these countries, this is a trend that will need to be reversed.
In 2020, the International Conference on Nuclear Engineering will be held in an interesting place: Disneyland, California. Abstracts will be accepted soon.