HTGR - High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor

Perhaps the most famous example was the Fort Saint Vrain reactor that operated between 1974 and 1989. It was a high temperature gas-cooled reactor or HTGR. Other HTGRs operated elsewhere, notably in Germany. HTGRs, of which there are many sub-categories, continue to stimulate commercial interest. HTGR designs are promoted by firms in China, South Africa, the United States, the Netherlands, and France. There is some interest in building commercial HTGRs in several nations including South Africa and China. Small research prototypes already exist in Japan and China. HTGRs use a gas- helium has been preferred- to generate electricity. In some cases the turbine is run directly by the gas, in other cases steam or alternative hot gases such as nitrogen are produced in a heat exchanger to generate the power. HTGRs are distinguished from other gas-cooled reactors by the higher temperatures attained within the reactor. Such higher temperatures might permit the reactor to be used as an industrial heat source in addition to generating electricity. This improves HTGR’s suitability for commercial hydrogen production. Advocates of HTGR designs hold that HTGRs have high safety, low costs, and a potential to supply power to smaller markets than do LWRs. HTGRs also are reputed to adapt better to changing load requirements of electricity markets than LWRs.