AECL Formalizes Strategic Agreement with China to Extend Nuclear Fuel Resources

Beijing, China, 2008 November 03 —

Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) today formalized an advanced nuclear fuel development agreement with China’s Third Qinshan Nuclear Power Co. (TQNPC), China North Nuclear Fuel Corporation and Nuclear Power Institute of China.

The agreement is to jointly develop the technology for the use of uranium recovered from the spent fuel of light water reactors in China, and to be used in the CANDU reactors in China, located southwest of Shanghai. The planned development program will involve scientists and engineers from Canada and China but would not be implemented in Canada.

AECL’s President & Chief Executive Officer Hugh MacDiarmid, visiting Beijing with a delegation of Canadian premiers and business leaders, noted that this demonstration project paves the way for China to secure fuel supply for up to 17,000 MW from its CANDU fleet by utilizing recovered uranium from spent fuel discharged by the 58,000 MW of light water reactors China plans to build by 2020.

“CANDU nuclear technology has the potential to make a major contribution to reducing China’s dependence on imported nuclear fuel resources as it complements China’s light water reactors, which produce the bulk of its nuclear power. We plan to follow this agreement with a similar program to demonstrate the CANDU reactor’s capability to use China’s abundant thorium resources.”

This agreement follows closely on TQNPC’s 5th anniversary ceremony celebrating the completion of the Qinshan Phase III CANDU nuclear power plant located southwest of Shanghai. Hailed by China’s President Hu Jintao as a “model for Canada-China cooperation” and the largest infrastructure project ever undertaken between Canada and China, the Qinshan Phase III nuclear power plant incorporates two 728 MWe CANDU 6® PHWR reactors designed by AECL and built in cooperation with TQNPC.

Mr. MacDiarmid noted that thorium has been identified as possibly China’s largest potential energy resource. “Demonstration of the use of thorium in CANDU reactors will not only mark a significant step towards China’s quest for energy sustainability, but will also be of great interest in many other countries, including Canada.”

AECL has investigated thorium fuels for over 45 years, including tests in a prototype CANDU power reactor in Canada, with very promising results.

Facts about CANDU power reactors

CANDU PHWR reactors such as those at the Qinshan Phase III Nuclear Power Plant in Zhejiang province are the only commercial reactors that can burn natural uranium fuel. All other power reactors require fuels enriched in U-235 isotope from the levels found in nature, an expensive and energy intensive process. CANDU reactors use 20 to 30% less natural uranium for each unit of energy produced.

CANDU’s unique fuel cycle capabilities are due to its use of nature’s most efficient moderator, heavy water, a component of all natural waters, assisted by its ability to change fuels while operating at up to full power.

AECL has tested thorium-based fuels in its test reactors and in the Rolphton, Ontario NPD 2 CANDU power reactor.

About AECL

Atomic Energy of Canada Limited is a full service nuclear technology company providing services to nuclear utilities around the world.

Established in 1952, AECL is the designer and builder of CANDU technology including the CANDU 6, one of the world's top-performing reactors.

AECL's 4,800 employees deliver cutting edge nuclear services, R&D support, design, and engineering, construction management, specialized technology, refurbishment, waste management and decommissioning in support of CANDU reactor products.

More information on AECL and CANDU reactor technology can be found at www.aecl.ca.

POINT OF VIEW/ Takashi Kamei:

Thorium a safer choice for nuclear reactors

THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

2008/12/24

A move to take a new look at atomic energy as a measure to alleviate global warming is gathering momentum around the world. However, concerns about safety, disposal of radioactive waste and nuclear proliferation cannot be dispelled. As a way to solve these problems comprehensively, I wish to call attention to nuclear power generation that uses thorium for fuel.

Thorium is a naturally occurring element that can be used as nuclear fuel. In uranium-fueled nuclear reactors, after absorbing a neutron, part of the uranium with an atomic mass number of 238 turns into plutonium-239, a key fissionable component in nuclear weapons.

With an atomic mass number of 232, thorium hardly breeds plutonium when used as nuclear fuel, reducing fears of nuclear proliferation.

Thorium is distributed extensively, and reserves are rich in such countries as Australia, India and China. It is estimated that thorium reserves are more than four times as abundant as uranium reserves.

In May, then Australian Governor-General Major General Michael Jeffery said that the use of thorium should be considered as a sustainable energy source because it does not produce weapon-grade materials. The use of thorium was also discussed at an international symposium on climate change held in October in Potsdam, Germany.

A statement issued in December 2007 by experts on global warming from Japan, China and India also included the use of thorium.

It is said that molten-salt reactors are most suitable for the use of thorium as a nuclear fuel. Molten salt refers to salts such as sodium chloride that come in liquid form under high temperatures. Energy is produced by dissolving thorium and a small amount of fissile materials in molten salt, which serves as the primary coolant.

Compared with conventional nuclear reactors that use water as a coolant, molten-salt reactors are safer because the pressure of the coolant is low even under high temperatures.

Another advantage is that there is no need to frequently stop operations to exchange fuel because they do not use fuel rods. Nor do they produce transuranium elements--chemical elements with atomic numbers greater than that of uranium at 92. These are the main elements of high-level radioactive waste.

In other words, molten-salt reactors can reduce radioactive waste both in terms of quantity and quality.

Studies on molten-salt reactors advanced in the United States from the 1950s to the 1970s. An experimental reactor was also operated for four years without accidents. But under the Cold War regime, one of the major purposes of nuclear power generation was to obtain uranium and plutonium to build nuclear weapons. Therefore, for political reasons, thorium was not a favored choice.

But now that the Cold War is over and the world is facing global warming, thorium and molten-salt reactors are once again attracting worldwide attention. In the United States in October, Democratic Senator Harry Reid and another senator submitted a bill to set aside $250 million for research and development of thorium-fueled nuclear power generation.

In the Czech Republic, too, construction of a molten-salt reactor is scheduled to start in 2013.

Meanwhile, in Japan, Kazuo Furukawa, a former Tokai University professor, and others have been proposing the use of thorium based on U.S. research results. However, full-scale domestic research and development have made little progress because researchers and budgets have always concentrated on the use of uranium and plutonium.

In the long run, nonthermal energies such as solar power should be promoted as the main source of energy. But during the transition period, nuclear power is needed.

Since thorium is a radioactive material, it obviously must be handled with care. Safety of waste disposal must also be confirmed. Before building a commercial reactor, high temperature containment vessels should be developed and the integrated system should be verified. Still, I believe thorium molten-salt reactors can eventually become a mainstay technology.

Hundreds of thousands of tons of thorium are in stock around the world in the form of residue after extraction of rare earth elements. The volume is large enough to operate molten-salt reactors until the end of the 21st century at the current global output level of 400 million kilowatts.

If Japan takes the lead in establishing thorium reactor technology and provides it to developing countries that are facing tight energy supply amid growing demand, it would also be useful in curbing global warming. Japan should also seriously consider the use of thorium for its own nuclear power generation.

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The author is an assistant professor at Kyoto University specializing in energy system design and assessment.(IHT/Asahi: December 24,2008)