NEOP Systems

The NINET's mission is to develop and deploy Sustainable Integrated Energy (SUSTINE) Systems that integrate locally available renewable energy sources and locally supportable nuclear energy systems. As part of this mission, the NINET is dedicated to facilitating the development of a new generation of nuclear energy systems designed to suit the needs of the emerging majority of energy users. These new nuclear energy technologies are called NEOP systems-Nuclear Energy of the Populace.

Key Features of NEOP Systems

Many different designs are possible for NEOP systems. Some may evolve from the current designs, which are water-cooled reactor, gas-cooled reactor, fast neutron reactor, liquid-metal cooled reactor and molten-salt reactor, and others may be designed around innovative new ideas or technology, including the use of thorium to supplement the uranium-plutonium fuel cycle.

The key features of NEOP systems will be those that solve problems or address challenges faced by the current generation of nuclear energy systems. NEOP systems will be

•  affordable and accessible;
•  user-friendly;
•  safe and environmentally responsible;
•  flexible use of fuel including thorium;
•  proliferation-resistant;
•  useful for a wide range of applications;
•  able to be ordered and built quickly.

If the same hospital were to use a current-generation nuclear energy system, it would get only electricity, and would have to use that electricity to produce hot water and to heat and cool the building. Medical isotopes would have to be obtained from a separate source.

The Current Design Paradigm

Most of the nuclear power plants operating today are based on Generation II reactors, which were designed and built in the 1970s. Some of plants operating today are improved versions of those designs. The Generation III reactors were designed in the late 1990s, and most aimed to reduce the per-unit cost of producing energy, as well as improving safety. Although these reactors have many benefits, they are not the best solution to meet the world's changing energy needs.

The current generation of nuclear reactors were designed to provide energy in existing markets, with pre-existing infrastructure and pools of qualified experts to operate and maintain the facilities. Now, in the twenty-first century, new markets and new users are emerging, sparking a need for a new type of reactor designed to suit their specific needs.

Starting in 2001, international effort has been organized to develop Generation IV nuclear energy systems. Six reactor concepts have been selected for development with the goals of improving of the reactors' design in terms of

•     sustainability;
•     economics;
•     safety and reliability; 
•     proliferation resistance and physical protection.

The designs selected, however, are adaptations of existing technological models based on existing markets, and do not specifically address the needs of emerging new energy users. In order to realize the potential of nuclear energy as a solution to the upcoming energy crisis, effort is needed soon, at the early stage of design development, to focus the design objectives of the Generation IV nuclear energy systems so they can better meet the needs of emerging energy users.

The Design Paradigm Shift

In order for the new energy systems to be useful to the emerging energy users, a new approach to their design must be taken. The current approach is based on adaptation ("Evolutionary-design-change" is the jargon used in the nuclear industry to describe this approach.) Old designs are modified to include an assortment of improvements and requirements accumulated over many years. This process takes a long time and results in complicated systems. This approach also tends to discourage innovation.

A shift in the design paradigm is needed. NEOP systems must be developed and incubated with the same pioneering and innovative spirit held by the designers of the Generations I and II nuclear energy systems in the 1950s and 1960s. Unlike those pioneering designers, however, this generation will benefit from the lessons learned along the way. These important lessons should be considered at design-concept level, not at the engineering-design level.

To complement this paradigm shift in design, we need an innovative approach to deployment as well. The past commercial success of the current nuclear energy systems has created momentum behind industrial and institutional practices that have come to dominate the industry. These practices include

•    a lengthy process for licensing nuclear power plants;
•    a decision-making process based on a capital investment micro-economical model;
•    requiring extensive infrastructure in a location before a plant is developed and built.

Many of these practices stand in the way of implementing the design and technology changes needed in the new generation of nuclear energy systems, and must be reviewed against the design objectives set out above.