A JOINT UNDERTAKING

INITIATIVE FOR THE HIGH FLUX REACTOR

Table of contents

Introduction 3The core activities at HFR 4 Innovative systems 4 Health 4 Improvement of safety of existing nuclear reactors 5 Fusion 6 Waste management 7 Fundamental research 7 Training 7

Background 8Current positioning of HFR vis-à-vis other MTR in Europe 9Current budget 10The scientifi c mission of the HFR 11

The Institute for Energy provides scientifi c and technical support for the conception, development, implementation and monitoring of community policies related to energy. Special emphasis is given to the security of energy supply and to sustainable and safe energy production.

As the Dutch centre of expertise in this fi eld, NRG develops understanding, products and processes for the safe utilization of nuclear technology for energy production, for the environment and for health.

Introduction

The High Flux Reactor (HFR), at the Institute for Energy of the Joint Research Centre (JRC), European Commission, is a key European infrastructure supporting nuclear safety and health and providing research opportunities for future energy supply and training capabilities. From an historical point of view, the High Flux Reactor (HFR) was considered from the beginning of its operation as a source of neutrons with the goal to provide irradiation services.

From 1961 to 1971, the HFR was run as a Com-mu nity Programme. Afterwards, it was run under successive Supplementary Programmes with a variable confi guration of Member States. A pro po sal for a new Supplementary Programme 2004-2006 was approved in December 2003 by the Commission and forwarded to Council for a decision which was taken on 19th February 2004.

Taking into account that the current Supplementary Programme is limited to a 3 years programme (2004-2006), unlike the previous 4 years pro-gramme schemes, the JRC and its partners in the exploitation of the HFR have jointly engaged in an analysis in order to explore longer term options for the future exploitation. With this view in mind, the period 2004-2006 is actively exploited to fi nalise this process in order to design a new legal framework for HFR operation beyond 2006. The retained option is the creation of a Joint Undertaking within the meaning of Articles 45 to 51 of the Euratom Treaty.

The present document is targeted towards potential partners who could consider becomingmembers of this Joint Undertaking initiative.

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The core activities at HFR

INNOVATIVE SYSTEMS

Activities concerning innovative concept reactors are experiencing a signifi cant revival in the technical and scientifi c community. This ranges from recovering technology from past experience, deriving from discontinued programmes, to knowledge sharing and totally new experiments to explore a number of candidate concepts.

The work at HFR focuses on safety-relevant as-pects of Very High Temperature Reactors (VHTR) and High Temperature Reactors (HTR) such as the integrity of fuel and structural mate rials with increasing neutron fl uence at typical V/HTR operating conditions. The HFR Unit contributes technically to this R&D with out-of-pile structural material tests and with the preparation, the execution and the scientifi c analysis of irradiation experiments on V/HTR fuel and on structural materials in the HFR Petten. Activities deployed under this heading also contribute to the Generation IV initiative.

HEALTH

The HFR is the main supplier of radioisotopes in Europe and second in the world. Radioisotopes produced at the HFR are crucial to the medical supply chain. Only six suppliers produce 92% of radioisotopes, used throughout the world for both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. With respect to diagnostic purposes (which account for 90% of all nuclear medicine procedures), Molybdenum (Mo-99/Tc-99m) is used in more than 70% of all diagnostics currently carried out in hospitals. HFR’s world-wide market share is about 30% and its European market share is 60%. This last fi gure represents 3.25 million patients per year. Furthermore, the HFR produces more than 10 different radioisotopes applied for therapeutic (cure or palliative) purposes.

The HFR is crucial for Europe’s strategic inde-pendence and autonomy of supply: discontinuing HFR operations would very likely lead to shortages in Europe which would then become fully dependent on South Africa and Canada for supply.

The activities on radioisotope production started in the mid-90’s under the responsibility of the JRC. Although production of radioisotopes does not produce scientifi c results, it has contributed to the political stability of HFR. In 1999, the responsibility for radioisotope production was given to NRG.

4X-ray of HTR fuel pebble

In addition to radioisotope production, the HFR is also involved in research on a novel medical application of radiotherapy through Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT), which is a promising technique of cancer treatment that combines tumour-seeking boron-containing drugs and irradiation at the HFR.

The technique involves a close working harmony between clinicians and nuclear/reactor physicists. Pre-clinical studies require investigations into radiation dose distributions (dosimetry/treatment planning/nuclear calculations/phantom measure-ments), as well as patient image data manipulation (MRI or CT images), whilst always working with the highest quality assurance procedures required for Good Clinical Practice (GCP).

The clinical trials at the HFR are performed by a multi-institutional partnership led under the medical responsibility of the University of Essen.

IMPROVEMENT OF SAFETY OF EXISTING NUCLEAR REACTORS

The support to the safe Plant Life Management (PLIM) of existing reactors in the EU, in Candidate Countries and in EU neighbouring countries requires, amongst others, the availability of high fl ux reactors. In that context, the JRC has developed in Petten research activities which are making use of the HFR for in-pile irradiations. This also involves outside partners combining their efforts within different networks.

Improving the operational safety of nuclear plants involves many scientifi c issues, which need to be studied. Amongst these issues, one can highlight neutron-induced embrittlement of primary vessels, propagation of cracks in materials degraded by irradiation, behaviour of welded parts under irradiation, corrosion behaviour of materials under irradiation and neutron-induced embrittlement of internal structural components of a reactor.

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100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

Diagnosis purposes Therapeutic purposes

1400

1200

1000

800

600

400

200

0

In Thousands

HFR Production (% of total country needs) Patients/year treated by HFR RI for diagnosis

Irradiation experiments are carried out at the HFR on materials in order to study, understand, monitor, predict and mitigate the degradation of critical components in view of PLIM of the primary components of nuclear reactors. This requires international benchmarking exercises to support best practices and to provide support to embrittlement and ageing studies. All these experiments have a particular focus on Russian design-type reactors, with the aim to improve the safety of operation of such installations in new Member States and neighbouring countries.

Furthermore, with regard to fuel safety, although the standard of existing fuels is high, utilities continue to request R&D efforts to assure safety in the situation of high burn-ups. The HFR supports this fuel safety effort through several fuel irradiation experiments.

FUSION

The Joint European Torus (JET) in Culham has achieved and demonstrated the feasibility of energy production through fusion. Its successor, the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) is intended to demonstrate the potential of a commercial fusion power plant. In this respect, several projects have been undertaken at the HFR, under the Dutch and German parts of the Supplementary programme, to test structural and breeding materials (e.g. fi rst wall, blankets and divertors) for future fusion reactors. The emphasis on materials development lies with low activation properties obtained at higher temperatures as these promote both the environmental and thermal effi ciency of the future fusion power plants to compete with renewable energy sources.

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Laboratory for water loop and out-of-pile testing on mini-specimens by bellows system

X-ray examination prior to in-pile testing of ceramic specimen

WASTE MANAGEMENT

The back-end of the nuclear fuel cycle can be addressed through re-cycling. The management of the resulting nuclear waste involves the separation of “Minor Actinides”, as well as some long-lived and mobile fi ssion products from spent nuclear fuel. This process, called “partitioning”, is followed by subsequent re-irradiation (Transmutation or Incineration). Major international programmes have been initiated world-wide to study whether advanced reprocessing with Partitioning and Transmutation (P&T) can become an alternative to the existing strategies for spent fuel management. In this framework, the HFR collaborates, through the EFTTRA1 project and its successors, with several major research institutes in various experiments for transmutation of actinides aimed at enhancing the safety of existing fi ssion reactor operation

and addressing the issue of long-lived nuclear waste. Cur-rent acti vities on waste management are executed by NRG in the frame of the Dutch part of the Supplementary Programme.

FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH

Fundamental research activities carried out at the HFR aim at developing and harmonising across Europe advanced measuring techniques for the life assessment of structural components in nuclear plants. Methods under study are non-destructive evaluation techniques using neutron beams and neutron properties (diffraction, small angle neutron scattering and radiography); these methods are very suitable for the assessment of microstructure, defects and internal stresses in structural components. The co-ordination of efforts, dissemination of results and support to harmonisation are carried out through the European network NET (NEutron Techniques standardisation for structural integrity).

TRAINING

The HFR is also a training facility hosting doctoral students and post-doctoral fellows performing their research activities through national or European Community programmes.

1 Launched in 1992, EFTTRA (Experimental Feasibility of Targets for TRAnsmutation) is a collaboration agreement of six research organisations, namely CEA (France), NRG (The Netherlands), EdF (France), FZK (Germany), JRC-IE, and JRC-ITU (Institute for Transuranium Elements); the latter is a leading partner in this issue.

Small Angle Neutron Scattering Facility

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The HFR is a light water cooled and moderated 45 MWth tank-in-pool multi-purpose materials testing reactor. Its 12 beam tubes and 32 irradiation positions allow testing of materials (for in-pile and out-of-pile evaluation) and targets irradiation (to produce medical radio-isotopes).

Operating 280 days per year on average, the HFR is one of the most available installations of its kind in the world.

The HFR reached fi rst criticality on 9th July 1961. It was transferred from the Dutch authorities to EURATOM in 1962 and subsequently operated by the JRC with the support of ECN2. The initial thermal power of the HFR was 20 MW. It was upgraded for the fi rst time in 1966 to 30 MW and subsequently in 1970 to 45 MW.

The Nuclear Research and consultancy Group (NRG) is the operator and, since February 2005, also the licence holder of the HFR. The JRC, representing the European Commission, remains as owner and one of the users of the facility.

At a time when all research reactors in Europe are ageing, the HFR underwent vessel replacement in 1984, which enables it to operate at least until 2015. Hence, until a new multipurpose research reactor is built in Europe, the HFR will play a crucial role in bridging that gap and supporting research activities.

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Background

2 Energie Centrum Nederland, the Dutch foundation for energy research, previously Reactor Centrum Nederland

Computer model of reactor vessel

Following the vessel replacement in 1984, the HFR can operate at least until 2015.

Regarding similar reactors in Europe, the LVR15 also underwent refurbishment. The FRM II is now in operation but will have to consider conversion from HEU to LEU. The design phase of the French Jules Horowitz Reactor project is progressing but it is not yet clear when it will be in operation.

The R2 reactor was shut down in July 2005, and the FRJ2 reactor will be shut down during 2006. Moreover, the future of the Halden reactor was due for discussion by the Norwegian government in Autumn 2005.

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Current positioning of HFR vis-à-vis other MTR in Europe3

3 Based on the FEUNMARR study (Future EUropean Needs in MAterial Research Reactors), Contract N° FIR1-CT-2001-20122 5th Euratom Framework Programme 1998-2002, key action: nuclear fi ssion, 2002

Table of E.U. MTR Characteristics (P > 10 MWth)Name Location Age Power

(MWth)Utilisation: % Share

Nuclear Medical OtherBR2 Belgium 44 60 51 28 21HFR Netherlands 44 45 45 45 10

LVR15 Czech Republic 48 10 50 15 35Halden Norway 45 19 100 0 0Osiris France 39 70 85 10 5

R2 Sweden 45 50 45 25 30ILL France 36 58 - n.a. -

FRM II Germany 2 25 n.a. n.a. n.a.FRJ2 Germany 45 23 60 10 30

The budget for the period 2004-2006 is summarised below, together with the usage of neutrons by type of activity. The average annual budget is 18.8 Mio€.

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Current budget

Commercial and competitive activities 24 Mio€ (44%)

Dutch contribution to SP 29.8 Mio€ (52%)

French contribution to SP 0.9 Mio€ (2%)

German competitive activities1.2 Mio€ (2%)

Radioisotopes production (41%)

Radioisotopes development (6%)

Fundamental research and training (12%)

BNCT and activation analysis (12%)

Safety improvement of existing reactors (12%)

Waste management (3%)

Fusion (14%)

Usage of Neutrons

2004-2006 budget in k€

Dutch contribution to SP 29,750

French contribution to SP 900

German competitive activities 1,200

Commercial and competitive activities

24,680

total 56,530

The scientifi c mission of the HFR is to perform research into neutron-material interaction in support of EU policies.

The mission is deployed by optimal use of the reactor in the fi elds of:• Nuclear safety of innovative reactors and existing reactors• Health and environment• Fundamental research

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The scientifi c mission of the HFR

For further information:JRC: http://www/jrc.cec.eu.intInstitute for Energy: http://ie.jrc.cec.eu.intNRG: http://www.nrg-nl.com

CONTACT INFO

Mr. Marc BecquetHead of Unit Operational Safety and Security of Scientifi c InfrastructuresDG Joint Research Centre,European CommissionEmail: marc.becquet@cec.eu.intTel. +32 (0)2 2993181Fax +32 (0)2 2950146Mail address:European CommissionOffi ce SDME 10/61BE 1049 Brussels, BelgiumOffi ce address:Square de Meeûs 8, BE 1050 Brussels

Mr. Roberto MayHead of Unit High Flux Reactor,Institute for EnergyDG Joint Research Centre,European CommissionEmail: roberto.may@cec.eu.intTel. +31 (0)224 565121Fax +31 (0)224 565615Mail and offi ce address:Westerduinweg 31755 LE Petten,The Netherlands

© European Communities, 2006