News and press releases
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When it comes to further developments in nuclear engineering and new reactor concepts, the abbreviation SMR appears again and again. This article explains what is behind the term, gives an overview of some of the best-known concepts, and outlines the work of GRS on this topic.
On 10 February 2022, French President Emmanuel Macron explained to the public how he envisages France's energy supply for the next decades. In addition to large-scale new construction projects for offshore wind farms, the expansion of nuclear power in particular is intended to cover the electricity demand that will arise by 2050: Six new types of EPR2 reactors are to be built, and the construction of eight more is to be examined. In addition, the development of a so-called Small Modular Reactor and the long-term operation of older nuclear power plants are planned. What the new reactor types and long-term operation mean from a technical (safety) perspective is outlined below.
What has happened in the field of nuclear energy last year? What developments can be observed internationally? In 2021, a total of six new reactor units were connected to the grid, including one small modular reactor – on the other hand, ten units have been decommissioned, including three of the six German units that have remained until then. Accordingly, the installed net capacity decreased to a total of 388,600 megawatts.
GRS experts develop computational code that can be used to simulate muon radiographic images in order to test the suitability of the method for examining storage casks for spent fuel assemblies
On 31 December 2021, three of the remaining six German nuclear power reactor units will cease power operation: Brokdorf, Grohnde and Gundremmingen C. Brokdorf has been supplying electricity to the grid since December 1986, Grohnde and Gundremmingen C since the beginning of 1985 - together, these reactors have been in operation for over a hundred years. The final three units (Isar 2, Lingen and Neckarwestheim II) will be shut down on 31 December 2022.
"The Internet is on fire" – that was the message in mid-December 2021 when a security loophole in the Java framework log4j became known, making a wide range of cyber-attacks possible. The Federal Office for Information Security then raised a "red" alert, the highest warning level. Quite a number of companies around the world have turned out to be affected. On behalf of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, GRS experts are analysing cyber-attacks and security incidents that may also be relevant for German nuclear facilities and installations in order to protect them accordingly.
GRS publishes new version of its AC² code package
Steam generator tubes in pressurised water reactors are exposed to high stresses such as high temperatures or large pressure differences. In combination with possible corrosive effects due to deposits in the outer area of the tubes, these stresses can at worst lead to leakages, which in turn could have an influence on operational safety. A team of researchers from GRS and the Materials Testing Institute of the University of Stuttgart has therefore conducted in-depth investigations into such leakages with the support of the Federal Ministry for the Environment and the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs. The scientists have now developed a flow model with which the leakage rate of the escaping medium can be determined even more precisely than previously possible.
It is unquestionable that a repository for high-level radioactive waste must be safe. This applies both to the phase during which the repository is being constructed and operated and to the phase afterwards, when the waste is enclosed and all drifts and shafts are sealed. In a joint research project, scientists from GRS and BGE Technology GmbH have investigated how these two phases are interrelated and influence each other.