Page 235 - Managing Global Warming

Current and future nuclear power reactors and plants 193

What that share will depend on actual sustainability and cost competitiveness. The
international trends are for more effective uranium utilization, closed fuel cycles with
reprocessing and recycle of spent fuel, and more effective and efficient management
of spent fuel and reduction of eventual wastes, are becoming obvious. These trends
require major exporters of nuclear reactors and uranium fuel with international com-
mitments, to develop an effective international presence and new technical processes
in order to keep technology relevant and competitive (e.g., as evidenced by the US
GNEP efforts).
From any reactor or cycle, recycled or reused fuel is not cheap: but it is sustain-
able. Fig. 4.51 shows the schematic of possible fuel cycles. Of importance is fuel
fabrication and the introduction of plutonium and thorium as fuels at the top level.
This expands the possible fuel resources immensely, and suppliers should be consid-
ering proceeding with enrichment to add value to uranium and thorium resources in
order to compete with other nations in global markets (e.g., in Australasia, Europe,
and Asia).
The technical, economic, and nonproliferation issues and challenges associated
with both enrichment and reprocessing, the issues associated with fuel supply guar-
antee together with spent fuel take back problems, and the issues associated with
developing global technology partnerships must be pursued and resolved.
In the strategic economic context, it is necessary to develop a longer-term view that
will synergistically benefit the economy and the global environment. Such a view will

Fig. 4.51 Schematic of nuclear fuel cycles.
Based on figure from Edmonds JA, Wise MA, Dooley JJ, et al. Nuclear energy. A core element
of global energy technology strategy to address climate change, report. United States: Battelle
Memorial Institute; 2007 May. 22 pp.