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New production, reprocessing and storage technologies

In France, nuclear energy accounted for about 78% of the country’s total production of electricity in 2011. In May 2012, France’s newly-elected president promised to reduce this proportion to 50% by 2030. In parallel, some experts have proposed scenarios for the complete discontinuation of nuclear power by 2033. In short, the future of the French electronuclear industry is unclear. The same is true around the world, as some populations reconsider their dependence on nuclear power in the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster. Still, one thing is certain: regardless of any future energy choices, the nuclear industry must continue to innovate — in order to improve the safety of its installations, its supply of raw materials, the reprocessing of its spent fuel and the long-term storage of its final wastes. In short, to be ready for the future, whatever it might bring.
80% of the nuclear installations in France will be over 30 years old by 2017. Their renewal is becoming urgent. This is why France is now building its first so-called third-generation reactor, the EPR, at the Flamanville site. Although the EPR uses the same technology as reactors from previous generations, its safety improvements represent a strong argument in its favor. Indeed, in the post-Fukushima world, third-generation nuclear plants could become the standard over the next few decades.
But nothing is written in stone, particularly because the fate of the nuclear industry is also linked to the world’s uranium supply, which in turn is influenced by the evolution of the international nuclear infrastructure. On the basis of the current number of reactors, the uranium resources should be enough to meet demand for the next 200 to 400 years. On the other hand, if the number of reactors worldwide quintuples by 2050, which the experts see as a definite possibility, the nuclear power industry could run out of uranium before the end of the century.
To soften the blow of a possible shortage, and simply to help prevent tensions on the uranium market, the 13 partners of the Generation IV International Forum (Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, South Korea, Russia, France, Japan, South Africa, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union) have agreed to work towards the deployment of fourth-generation nuclear plants by 2040. Their primary advantage is that, unlike previous-generation reactors, which run almost exclusively on uranium 235 (an isotope that makes up only 0.72% of natural uranium), Generation IV makes use of uranium 238 — which accounts for more than 99% of the composition of natural uranium — or thorium, another radioactive element that is found in abundance in nature. Out of 120 proposed concepts, the Generation IV Forum selected six solutions, at least one of which could well replace the current uranium 235-based nuclear technology before the year 2100.

Looking beyond this fourth generation of fission reactors, fusion is the main focus of nuclear experts. For the moment, the process exists only on paper, and even the most optimistic observers do not expect to see a functional fusion reactor for at least another 40 years. But in principle, it offers the possibility of cleaner, safer nuclear energy that would be as sustainable as Generation IV. For the proponents of fusion, this prospect justifies the colossal resources being deployed in the hope of perfecting the technology one day — to the point that some even envisage the possibility of bypassing Generation IV, switching directly from Generation III to fusion. That said, Generation IV also has the advantage of providing a solution — albeit partial — to the question of nuclear waste, and within a much more foreseeable timeframe than that of fusion. Because they use high-energy neutrons, fourth-generation reactors would presumably be able to “incinerate” some of the most problematic nuclear waste, namely the high-activity long-lived radioactive substances, primarily minor actinides.
“getting rid of” nuclear waste at this stage. This is why France, along with many other countries, favors the option of deep underground storage. Should this solution be approved and adopted, no radioactive materials will be buried before 2025, but this will require close monitoring for at least 100 years — further proof that latest-generation nuclear technologies are more topical than ever!