PBMR - Pebble-Bed Modular Reactor

Pebble-bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) (Eskom): The PBMR, which uses helium as a coolant, is part of the HTGR family of reactors and thus a product of a lengthy history of research, notably in Germany and the United States. More recently the design has been promoted and revised by the South African utility Eskom and its affiliates. Westinghouse BNFL is a minority investor. Prototype variations of the PBMR are now operating in China and Japan. Eskom has received administrative approval to build a prototype PBMR in South Africa, but has also been delayed in implementation by judicial rulings regarding the reactor’s potential environmental impact. Certification procedures in the U.S. have slowed, but never have been abandoned. At around 165 MWe the PBMR is one of the smallest reactors now proposed for the commercial market. This is considered a marketing advantage because new small reactors require lower capital investments than larger new units. Several PBMRs might be built at a single site as local power demand requires. Small size has been viewed as a regulatory disadvantage because most licensing regulations (at least formerly) required separate licenses for each unit at a site. The NRC also does not claim the same familiarity with the design that it has with LWRs. Fuels used in the PBMR would include more highly enriched uranium than is now used in LWR designs. The PBMR design is considered a possible contender for the U.S. Department of Energy's Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) program in Idaho. China has also indicated interest in building its own variation of the PBMR. China and South Africa have also discussed cooperation in their efforts.