There is growing interest in the use of advanced reactor systems for powering industrial processes which could significantly help to reduce CO 2 emissions in the global energy system. However, there has been limited consideration into the role nuclear power would play in meeting current and future industry heat demand, especially with respect to the advantages and disadvantages nuclear power offers relative to other competing low-carbon technologies, such as Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). In this study, the current market needs for high temperature heat are considered based on UK industry requirements and work carried out in other studies regarding how industrial demand could change in the future. How these heat demands could be met via different nuclear reactor systems is also presented. Using this information, it was found that the industrial heat demands for temperature in the range of 500 ∘ C to 1000 ∘ C are relatively low. Whilst High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactors (HTGRs), Very High Temperature Reactors (VHTRs), Gas-cooled Fast Reactors (GFRs) and Molten Salt Reactors (MSRs) have an advantage in terms of capability to achieve higher temperatures (>500 ∘ C), their relative benefit over Liquid Metal-cooled Fast Reactors (LMFRs) and Light Water Reactors (LWRs) is actually smaller than previous studies indicate. This is because, as is shown here, major parts of the heat demand could be served by almost all reactor types. Alternative (non-nuclear) means to meet industrial heat demands and the indirect application of nuclear power, in particular via producing hydrogen, are also considered. As hydrogen is a relatively poor energy carrier, current trends indicate that the use of low-carbon derived hydrogen is likely to be limited to certain applications and there is a focus in this study on the emerging demands for hydrogen.

Due to the challenges of spent fuel accumulation, the nuclear industry is exploring more cost-effective solutions for spent fuel management. The burnup-credit method, in application for storage and transport of the spent fuel, gained traction over recent decades since it can remove the over-conservatism of the “fresh-fuel” approach. The presented research is focused on creating an innovative, best estimate approach of the burnup-credit method for boiling water reactor (BWR) spent fuel based on the results of neutronic/thermal-hydraulic coupled full core simulations. The analysis is performed using a Polaris/DYN3D sequence. Four different shuffling procedures were used to estimate the possible range of the BWR fuel discharged burnup variation. The results showed a strong influence of the shuffling procedure on the final burnup distribution. Moreover, a comparison of the 2D lattice and 3D coupled nodal approaches was conducted for the criticality estimation of single fuel assemblies. The analysis revealed substantial improvement in criticality curves obtained with the full-core model. Finally, it was shown that the benefit from the burnup-credit method is larger in the case of more optimal fuel utilisation-based shuffling procedures. The new approach developed here delivers a promising basis for future industrial optimisation procedures and thus cost optimisation.

If international agreements regarding the need to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions are to be met then there is a high probability that the shipping industry will have to dramatically reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. For emission reductions from ships greater than around 40% then alternatives to fossil fuels -such as nuclear energy -will very likely be required. A Small Modular Pressurised Water Reactor design has been developed specifically to meet the requirements of a large container ship with a power requirement of 110 MWe. Container ships have a number of requirements -including a small crew size and reduced outages associated with refuelling -that result in a greater focus on design simplifications, including the elimination of the chemical reactivity control system during power operation and a long core life.We have developed a novel, soluble-boron free, low power density core that does not require refuelling for 15 years. The neutronic and fuel performance behaviour of this system has been studied with conventional UO 2 fuel. The size of the pressure vessel has been limited to 3.5 metres in diameter. Furthermore, to ensure the survivability of the cladding material, the coolant outlet temperature has been reduced to 285 • C from 320 • C as in conventional GWe-class PWRs, with a resulting reduction in thermal efficiency to 25%. The UO 2 core design was able to satisfactorily meet the majority of requirements placed upon the system assuming that fuel rod burnups can be limited to 100 GWd/tHM. The core developed here represents the first workable design of a commercial marine reactor using conventional fuel, which makes realistic the idea of using nuclear reactors for shipping.

The U.K. has initiated the nuclear renaissance by contracting for the first two new plants and announcing further new build projects. The U.K. government has recently started to support this development with the announcement of a national programme of nuclear innovation. The aim of this programme with respect to modelling and simulation is foreseen to fulfil the demand in education and the build-up of a reasonably qualified workforce, as well as the development and application of a new state-of-the-art software environment for improved economics and safety. This document supports the ambition to define a new approach to the structured development of nuclear reactor core simulation that is based on oversight instead of looking at detail problems and the development of single tools for these specific detail problems. It is based on studying the industrial demand to bridge the gap in technical innovation that can be derived from basic research in order to create a tailored industry solution to set the new standard for reactor core modelling and simulation for the U.K. However, finally, a technical requirements specification has to be developed alongside the strategic approach to give code developers a functional specification that they can use to develop the tools for the future. Key points for a culture change to the application of modern technologies are identified in the use of DevOps in a double-strata approach to academic and industrial code development. The document provides a novel, strategic approach to achieve the most promising final product for industry, and to identify the most important points for improvement.