A Technology Roadmap for Generation IV Nuclear Energy Systems

To advance nuclear energy to meet future energy needs, ten countries—Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Republic of South Africa, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States—have agreed on a framework for international cooperation in research for a future generation of nuclear energy systems, known as Generation IV. The figure below gives an overview of the generations of nuclear energy systems. The first generation was advanced in the 1950s and 60s in the early prototype reactors. The second generation began in the 1970s in the large commercial power plants that are still operating today. Generation III was developed more recently in the 1990s with a number of evolutionary designs that offer significant advances in safety and economics, and a number have been built, primarily in East Asia. Advances to Generation III are underway, resulting in several (so-called Generation III+) near-term deployable plants that are actively under development and are being considered for deployment in several countries. New plants built between now and 2030 will likely be chosen from these plants. Beyond 2030, the prospect for innovative advances through renewed R&D has stimulated interest worldwide in a fourth generation of nuclear energy systems.