7 October 2021, 14:00-16:30 CEST

Reducing industrial carbon emissions is one of the most difficult challenges on the path to net zero by 2050, due to the magnitude of greenhouse gas emissions from the industrial sector and technical requirements for heat in addition to power. High-temperature reactors (HTRs) are promising Generation IV nuclear technologies that can supply process heat for a variety of industrial applications.

The Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) organised a virtual workshop to explore the opportunities and challenges associated with HTRs for industrial heat applications. This workshop provided a forum for experts from the public and private sectors to exchange views on the technological and economic features of HTRs focusing on priorities from the end-user's point of view, as collected in advance by the NEA. It  also addressed the potential contribution of HTRs towards national and global decarbonisation targets while encouraging discussion about the conditions necessary to promote and enable deployment of HTRs for industrial heat applications.

The overall aim of the workshop was to foster a common understanding of HTRs among a range of stakeholders including end-users, technology developers and policymakers, and discuss effective approaches for the practical deployment of this technology and its enabling environment. 

Opening remarks were delivered by NEA Director-General William D. Magwood, IV, followed by a keynote address by Shannon Bragg-Sitton, Lead for Integrated Energy Systems (IES) at Idaho National Laboratory (INL).

Agenda

Session 1: Technology perspectives

Moderated by Shannon Bragg-Sitton, Lead, Integrated Energy Systems (IES), Idaho National Laboratory (INL)

• Michael Fütterer, Chair of VHTR System Steering Committee Generation, IV International Forum (GIF), and the European Nuclear Cogeneration Industrial Initiative (NC2I)
• Niel Kemp, Technical Director, Global First Power
• Jeff Harper, Vice President, Strategy & Business Development, X Energy
• Hiroyuki Sato, Group Leader, Department of Hydrogen and Heat Application Research and Development, HTGR Research and Development center, Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA)

Session 2: Economy and market perspectives

Moderated by Jhansi R. Kandasamy, Vice President of Engineering, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy

• Atsushi Kurosawa, Research Director and Principal Researcher, Global Environment Group, The Institute of Applied Energy
• Célestin Piette, Head of Industrial Applications, Nuclear Innovation Lab, Tractebel
• Andrew Sowder, Senior Technical Executive, Advanced Nuclear Technology Program, The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)
• Lara Pierpoint, Director of Climate, Actuate

Session 3:  National strategies and global perspectives

Moderated by Jhansi R. Kandasamy, Vice President of Engineering, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy

• Józef Sobolewski, Plenipotentiary Director for HTR Development, the National Centre for Nuclear Research (NCBJ), Poland
• Rob Arnold, Lead Nuclear Engineer, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), UK
• Stephanie Smith, President and Chief Executive Officer, CANDU Owners Group (COG)
• Kirsty Gogan, Co-Founder and Managing Director, TerraPraxis

Closing remarks  

• Patrick Ledermann, National Academy of Technologies of France (NATF), and Chair of the NEA Committee for Technical and Economic Studies on Nuclear Energy Development and the Fuel Cycle (NDC)