Jules Horowitz Reactor

The Jules Horowitz Reactor (Réacteur Jules Horowitz or RJH) is a Material Test Reactor (MTR) cooled and moderated with water.[1] It is under construction at Cadarache in southern France,[2] based on the recommendations of the European Roadmap for Research Infrastructures Report, which was published by the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) in 2006.[3] The reactor, which is named for the 20th-century French nuclear scientist Jules Horowitz,[4] is expected to begin operation in 2021.[5]

Project background and funding

The Jules Horowitz Reactor's construction was recommended by ESFRI as a replacement for the European Union's existing materials testing reactors, which were all built in the 1960s, and are expected to reach the end of their service lives by 2020.[6] The reactor is being built under the framework of an international consortium of research institutes, including France's CEA, the Czech Republic's NRI, Spain's CIEMAT, Finland's VTT, Belgium's SCK•CEN, the United Kingdom's NNL and the European Commission, along with private companies such as Electricité de France (EDF), Vattenfall and Areva. There are two non-European associate partners to the consortium; India's DAE and Japan's JAEA. The construction of the reactor was funded by CEA (which provided 50% of the project's funding), EDF (20%), various EU research institutes (20%) and Areva (10%).[7] In the framework of the IAEA ICERR label (International Centre based on Research Reactors), the JHR will be also available to institutions from IAEA Member States for education, and joint research and development (R&D) projects.[8]

Design

The Jules Horowitz Reactor is a materials testing reactor, with a power output of approximately 100 megawatts. It has a planned service lifespan of around 50 years, and is designed to be adaptable for a variety of research uses by nuclear utilities, nuclear steam system suppliers, nuclear fuel manufacturers, research organisations and safety authorities.[7] The reactor's versatile modular design allows it to accommodate up to 20 simultaneous experiments. Its instrumentation allows previously unavailable real-time analysis to be performed. Its primary uses will be research into the performance of nuclear fuel at existing reactors, testing of materials used in reactors, testing designs for fuel for future reactors and the production of radioisotopes for use in medicine.[7] The reactor is intended to produce radioisotopes in coordination with existing production facilities at Petten in the Netherlands.[6] The reactor's coolant flow is ascending, in the order of nearly 2.36 m3/s, with maximum pressure in the order of 1.0-1.5 MPa, depending on the required flow and the core head loss.[9]

Construction

Site preparation for the project began at the Cadarache nuclear research complex in March 2007.[6][10] The first concrete for the reactor's foundations was poured in August 2009, and the central containment structure was completed with the addition of a 105-tonne dome in December 2013.[10] The Jules Horowitz Reactor is expected to achieve its first criticality in 2021.[5] A senior vice president of General Atomics claimed during testimony before US House members that operation started in 2014.[11]

In December 2020, Constructions industrielles de la Méditerranée delivered the reactor battery block of the JHR.[12]

References
  1. Bignan, Gilles (18 March 2012). "The Jules Horowitz reactor : a new high performances european MTR (Material Testing Reactor) with modern experimental capacities : toward an international user facility" (PDF). RRFM European Research Reactor 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 June 2016.
  2. "The JHR Jules Horowitz Reactor". CAD.CEA.fr. 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  3. "ESFRI Roadmap Report". EIBIR. 2006. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  4. "Under construction: Reactor Jules Horowitz". ITER. 30 June 2008. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  5. Brunel, Guy (17 March 2015). "Dossier de Presse du Centre de Recherche du CEA Cadarache" (PDF). Press Release.
  6. "European materials test reactor progresses". World Nuclear News. 1 July 2008. Retrieved 8 July 2008.
  7. "Construction starts on Jules Horowitz". World Nuclear News. 21 March 2008. Archived from the original on 6 January 2009. Retrieved 8 July 2008.
  8. Zhukova, Anastasia (14 September 2015). "French Nuclear Research Reactors to Become International Training and R&D Hubs Under IAEA Label". IAEA Web Site. IAEA Department of Nuclear Energy.
  9. "JHR General Layout" (PDF). NIST.gov. 2005. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  10. "Materials test reactor gets its dome". World Nuclear News. 16 December 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  11. http://docs.house.gov/meetings/SY/SY20/20150513/103447/HHRG-114-SY20-Wstate-ParmentolaJ-20150513.pdf
  12. "CNIM delivers to TechnicAtome the 18 parts constituting the heart of the Jules Horowitz Reactor (JHR)". Constructions industrielles de la Méditerranée. 16 December 2020.

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