IN A clear sign that the UK is gearing up to build more nuclear power stations, a £6.1 million research programme has been launched to investigate reactor designs.
Research Councils UK wants to find ways of making reactors safer. The programme will also look at smarter ways of monitoring existing reactors and technologies for safely disposing of nuclear waste. Researchers will study the pebble-bed reactor being pioneered in South Africa, in which an inert gas such as helium circulates through hot fuel pebbles and is then used to drive a turbine. Japan’s high temperature reactors will also be considered.
The…
