Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to thank the organizers of this Congress in the name of the European Nuclear Society (ENS) for the invitation to participate as a keynote speaker in this Workshop about Nuclear Energy.
My contribution is divided in three parts. In the first one I am going to say a few words about the ENS, in the second I will present the actual state of the nuclear energy in the world related with electricity generation, and finally a perspective of the future.
ENS was founded in 1975. It is an international federation grouping together 26 national nuclear societies from 25 countries ? stretching from the Atlantic to the Urals and right across Russia to the Pacific. ENS brings together these national nuclear societies with the central aim of fostering and coordinating their activities on an international level.
The membership of ENS is made up of more than 20,000 professionals from industry, academia, research centres and regional and national authorities. ENS also has three Associate Member Societies in Australia, Israel and Morocco and has collaboration agreements with the American Nuclear Society, the Argentinean Nuclear Energy Association, as well as the Canadian and the Chinese Nuclear Societies. In addition, through working groups and regular information exchange meetings that focus mainly on issues related to nuclear energy and sustainable development, ENS works closely with international nuclear forums and bodies such as FORATOM, the World Nuclear Association, the Nuclear Energy Institute (US), the Japanese Atomic Industry Forum and the Canadian Nuclear Association.
The aims of the association are to promote and to contribute to the advancement of science and engineering in the field of the peaceful applications of nuclear energy by all suitable means and in particular by:
Present state of the Nuclear Energy in the world:
The nuclear energy is one of the disciplines that spans engineering systems from the microscopic world (atoms) to the macroscopic one (energy production). It contributes to welfare via power, human health and security.
With the nuclear technology the energy is supplied in a sustainable and safely way, and has less environmental impact than other energies, contributing to the keep the Kyoto Protocol behaviours.
The energy produced is competitive at lower cost than other energies, and the nuclear industry has been continuously developing new innovative systems to be ready for electricity generation or other industrial applications.
At present, the total number of Nuclear Power Plants (NPP) is 440 with 370 GWe. The Light Water Reactors represents the 80% of the total NPP, with 352 units. All these NPPs in operation generate the 16% of the total electricity in the world, being about 33% in the European Union (EU). France with 80%, Belgium with 54%, Finland and Germany with 30% each, and Sweden with 45% are the countries in EU with more nuclear power capacity.
The contribution of the nuclear energy to the CO2 emission avoidance is really relevant, having zero emission in comparison with other energies. If all nuclear power capacity in EU would be closed, CO2 emission would rise every year more than 50% of the usual emission. Similarly the replacing of all the nuclear capacity in EU by coal to produce electricity will increase the CO2 in 935 million tonnes, in 700 million of tonnes if replacing by oil, and in 460 million of tonnes if replacing by gas.
So, as conclusion the nuclear energy is now giving a positive answer related with the global warming, and contributing to keep the Kyoto Protocol levels.
Nuclear energy is also economically competitive with both gas or coal fired power plants, being the nuclear fuel safely provided, and its prize represents only the 10% of the total cost of the energy.
Concerning waste management, the volume of radioactivity waste from NPPs are small and they need long term stewardship. The disposal of all radioactive waste is technically and economically feasible and several examples can illustrate the advances in the waste management so far: CLAB in Sweden, Habog in Holland, and using casks to storage fuel elements, as in Surry (United States). Additionally, EU, Japan and United States are dedicating resources to the research and development of the Separation and Transmutation Radioactive Wastes in the last ten years. This technology can reduce both the volume and also the radioactivity of the radioactive wastes, and then the control of High Level Waste will be easy.
Now the new power plants that have being constructed are classified in the Generation III. Several units of this technology are in operation in Japan and other countries of the Pacific. Europe is now constructing the first unit in Finland (Olkilouto) with european technology: the European Pressurized Reactor (EPR). France has announced the beginning of the construction of an EPR in Flamanville next year. For 2025, it seems that many countries of EU will have to construct NPPs until 40 GWe: France, UK, Germany, North Europe, Russia, Spain, Rumania, Turkey, between others. Last week the International Energy Agency has recommended the construction of NPPs to maintain a sustainable energy generation.
Future of Nuclear Energy:
The Advanced Reactors have safer systems than those developed in the Generation II, which demonstrates that are sustainable for the present and nuclear industry has also developed new concepts for the future which also will be sustainable.
In 2000, several countries with advanced nuclear technology established the Generation IV International Forum (GIF) to develop and demonstrate nuclear energy systems that offer advantages in the following areas: sustainability, economics, safety and reliability and proliferation resistance and physical protection. These new systems will be deployed commercially by 2030. Six innovative concepts are under research, and the aim is not only produce electricity, but also hydrogen using the operational conditions of several concepts.
An alternative for the future is the nuclear fusion that consist in the union of light nucleus as hydrogen (deuterium plus tritium) to produce a great liberation of energy. There are two types of fusion devices or confinement technologies: magnetic and inertial. The first one uses intense electromagnetic fields and the second one uses intense laser beams.
ITER is one of the big projects in the world, and it is the essential next step in the development of magnetic fusion. The main objective is demonstrate the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion power. In this project, an international collaboration exits between: China, EU, India, Japan, Korea, Rusia and USA. The construction will start in 2007 in Cadarache (France). It is scheduled to obtain the first experimental results in 2016 and the estimated cost is 5,000 M?
Developed countries with NPPs in operation have strategies for the future of the nuclear energy. For the short term is to extend the operation of the NPPs until 60 years, or alternatively construction of new units of Generation III, to substitute those closed for decommissioning, keeping the percentage of contribution to the electricity generated. Between the period 2030-50, the solution is to operate the new systems of the Generation IV, which employes the passive concept, and in the second part of the 21st Century the fusion reactors.
Conclusions
It is well known that global trends indicate a rebirth of nuclear energy due to several items: the climate change and the use of energies that emits CO2, the cost and dependence of gas and oil, the new innovative reactors which are competitive, safer, sustainable and can support the Kyoto Protocol. So, finally let me say that nuclear power must be part of our future.
Madrid, November 6th, 2006
It is well known that global trends indicate a rebirth of nuclear energy due to several items: the climate change and the use of energies that emits CO2, the cost and dependence of gas and oil, the new innovative reactors which are competitive, safer, sustainable and can support the Kyoto Protocol. Nuclear power must be part of our future.
Emilio Minguez – Madrid, November, 2006
Spain
