7 October 2021, 14:00-16:30 CEST
Reducing industrial carbon emissions is one of the most difficult challenges on the path to net zero by 2050, due to the magnitude of greenhouse gas emissions from the industrial sector and technical requirements for heat in addition to power. High-temperature reactors (HTRs) are promising Generation IV nuclear technologies that can supply process heat for a variety of industrial applications.
The Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) organised a virtual workshop to explore the opportunities and challenges associated with HTRs for industrial heat applications. This workshop provided a forum for experts from the public and private sectors to exchange views on the technological and economic features of HTRs focusing on priorities from the end-user's point of view, as collected in advance by the NEA. It also addressed the potential contribution of HTRs towards national and global decarbonisation targets while encouraging discussion about the conditions necessary to promote and enable deployment of HTRs for industrial heat applications.
The overall aim of the workshop was to foster a common understanding of HTRs among a range of stakeholders including end-users, technology developers and policymakers, and discuss effective approaches for the practical deployment of this technology and its enabling environment.
Opening remarks were delivered by NEA Director-General William D. Magwood, IV, followed by a keynote address by Shannon Bragg-Sitton, Lead for Integrated Energy Systems (IES) at Idaho National Laboratory (INL).
Agenda
Session 1: Technology perspectives
Moderated by Shannon Bragg-Sitton, Lead, Integrated Energy Systems (IES), Idaho National Laboratory (INL)
Session 2: Economy and market perspectives
Moderated by Jhansi R. Kandasamy, Vice President of Engineering, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy
Session 3: National strategies and global perspectives
Moderated by Jhansi R. Kandasamy, Vice President of Engineering, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy
Closing remarks