Education and Training Series #94: Prospects and challenges of the GFR technology

These webinars, organised by the GIF Education and Training Working Group are streamed live monthly. The recordings and slide decks are accessible after the webinar on this website. These webinars cover a very broad range of technical and policy related topics. At the end of 2023 they have been viewed by more than 15000 people (approximately half of the views during the live streams and the other half views being of the archives on the public GIF website). In total, the GIF webinars have reached Generation IV enthusiasts, scientists, and engineers in more than 80 countries.

These webinars are organised and hosted by the GIF Education and Training Working Group (ETWG). 

This webinar will present the prospects and challenges of Gas-cooled Fast Reactor (GFR) technology, a promising concept that aims to combine the advantages of fast reactors—such as a closed fuel cycle, efficient burning of minor actinides, and high fuel efficiency through the breeding process—with the very high core outlet temperatures provided by its gaseous coolant. These features position GFRs as one of the most promising reactor technologies of the future.

However, alongside this potential come several challenges in design and operation. Gas, as a coolant, is generally less efficient, and fast reactor cores need to be compact to perform efficiently. This combination of relatively high-power density with a non-ideal coolant presents specific challenges, particularly in the context of emergency core cooling.

In this webinar, we will explore the current approaches to addressing these challenges and maximising the potential of GFR technology. The session will also include a historical overview of GFR development and an examination of modern GFR concepts.

The webinar will end on a Q&A session that will give the possibility to delve deeper into topics related to the initial presentation.

Dr. Patricia Paviet from PNNL, USA, chair of GIF Education and Training Working Group (ETWG), will facilitate this webinar.

The GIF ETWG webinar series started in 2016 and more than 90 webinars have been streamed since then. People from more than 80 countries have attended these webinars over the years. You can learn more about previous webinars and ETWG activities on the GIF website.