This report presents the results of an assessment of advanced reactor technology options and is intended to provide a sound comparative technical context for future decisions concerning these technologies. A wide variety of important missions and advanced reactor technology needs were identified based on recent Department of Energy and international studies. Strategic objectives were established that span the range of key nuclear energy missions and needs. A broad team of stakeholders from industry, academia and government was assembled as part of the study. The team developed a comprehensive set of goals, criteria and metrics to evaluate advanced test and demonstration reactor concepts. Point designs of a select number of concepts were commissioned to provide a deeper technical basis for evaluation. The technology options were compared on the bases of technical maturity and the ability to meet the different strategic objectives. Pathways to deployment for concepts of varying technical maturity were estimated for the different demonstration systems with regard to cost, schedule and possible licensing approaches. This study also presents the tradeoffs that exist among the different irradiation test reactor options in terms of the ability to conduct irradiations in support of advanced reactor R&D and to serve potential secondary missions. viii EXECUTIVE SUMMARYGlobal efforts to address climate change will require large-scale decarbonization of energy production in the United States and elsewhere. Nuclear power already provides 20% of electricity production in the United States (U.S.) and is increasing in countries undergoing rapid growth around the world. Because reliable, grid-stabilizing, low-emission electricity generation, energy security, and energy resource diversity will be increasingly valued, nuclear power's share of electricity production has a potential to grow. In addition, there are non-electricity applications (e.g., process heat, desalination, hydrogen production) that could be better served by advanced nuclear systems. Thus, the timely development, demonstration, and commercialization of advanced nuclear reactors could diversify the nuclear through a combination of both new and existing facilities. From a long-term perspective, many advanced concepts will benefit from an irradiation test reactor that can support fuel and material testing and qualification. Design and construction of an irradiation test reactor are estimated to take about 10 to 13 years. Cost estimates for these irradiation test reactors are both around $3 billion and are highly uncertain at this early stage in the design process.xii Licensing OptionsThe licensing options also vary by concept maturity. For the mature concepts (HTGR and SFR), both reactor vendors providing demonstration reactor point designs have reported they would pursue a commercial power reactor Class 103 Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) license. Considerable data exist from past demonstration projects and R&D activities conducted over the past 50 years to supp...

An assessment of advanced reactor technology options was conducted to provide a sound comparative technical context for future decisions by the Department of Energy (DOE) concerning these technologies. Strategic objectives were established that span a wide variety of important missions and advanced reactor technology needs were identified based on recent Department of Energy and international studies. A broad team of stakeholders from industry, academia and government was assembled to develop a comprehensive set of goals, criteria and metrics to evaluate advanced irradiation test and demonstration reactor concepts. Point designs of a select number of concepts were commissioned to provide a deeper technical basis for evaluation. The technology options were compared on the bases of technical readiness and the ability to meet the different strategic objectives. Using the study's evaluation criteria and metrics, an independent group of exerts from industry, universities and national labs scored each of the point designs. Pathways to deployment for concepts of varying technical maturity were estimated for the different demonstration systems with regard to cost, schedule and possible licensing approaches. This study also presents the tradeoffs that exist among the different irradiation test reactor options in terms of the ability to conduct irradiations in support of advanced reactor research and development (R&D) and to serve potential secondary missions.

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The Advanced Reactor Technologies (ART) program grew out of earlier Department of Energy efforts to promote next-generation, small modular, and other advanced reactor concepts. It is now sponsored by Office of Advanced Reactor Deployment, NE-52. Because of its peculiar genesis, the program resides at multiple national laboratories and brings in researchers from subcontracting entities and universities. This creates a need for Idaho National Laboratory's (INL's) ART to authorize and define work through memorandum purchase orders, inter-entity work orders, and subcontracts. ART manages research and development (R&D) for the Gas-Cooled Reactors (GCRs) Campaign and other advanced-reactor technologies and ensures that Nuclear Regulatory Commission (requirements and stakeholder needs are factored into the R&D activities. The GCR Campaign supports the Next Generation Nuclear Plant High Temperature Reactor as outlined in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 1 by integrating the following major program elements of research and licensing:

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