Application for changes to reactor installation of the High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor to demonstrate hydrogen production technology by high temperature gas-cooled reactor (Notice)
- JAEA submitted an application to the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) for changes to reactor installation in accordance with the Act on the Regulation of Nuclear Source Material, Nuclear Fuel Material and Reactors in order to connect a hydrogen production facility to the HTTR (High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor) at the Oarai Nuclear Engineering Institute.
- JAEA plans to establish a hydrogen production facility connected to the HTTR and to confirm the hydrogen production technology by directly using the heat obtained from the reactor, in order to support the design of the high temperature gas-cooled reactor demonstration reactor based on the “Basic Policy for the Realization of GX” (Cabinet Decision on February 10, 2023) and other policies.
- JAEA aims to demonstrate the potential of high temperature gas-cooled reactors as a source of hydrogen in a decarbonized society by demonstration hydrogen production as early as possible, following a review by the NRA.
The use of hydrogen is considered essential for the decarbonization of hard-to-abate sectors such as steelmaking and the chemical industry, in order to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. High-temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs) are expected to realize the stable, large scale hydrogen production, as they have excellent safety features and can provide high-temperature heat without carbon dioxide emissions. In view of these characteristics, the “Basic Policy for the Realization of GX” (Cabinet Decision of February 10, 2023) refers to the development of the HTGR demonstrator with the aim of starting its operation in the 2030s, and the Advanced Reactor Working Group of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry presented a technology roadmap for the construction of a demonstrator and a plan for hydrogen production using the HTGR by 2030, utilizing the HTTR, which recorded the world’s highest reactor outlet temperature of 950°C.
Based on the national policy, the JAEA has been conducting research and development to install and connect a hydrogen production facility to the HTTR owned by the JAEA in the “HTGR Demonstrator Development Project (Large-scale Hydrogen Production Demonstration Project utilizing Very High Temperature)” commissioned by the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, in order to confirm the hydrogen production technology directly using the heat of the nuclear reactor. In addition, technical evaluations have been carried out to conform to the nuclear regulatory requirements for connecting the hydrogen production facility to the nuclear reactor.
JAEA submitted an application to the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) for the modification of the reactor facilities for the connection between the HTTR and the hydrogen production facility, in accordance with the Act on the Regulation of Nuclear Source Material, Nuclear Fuel Material and Reactors.
JAEA aims to produce hydrogen using heat from the HTTR by 2030, following review by the Nuclear Regulation Authority, to achieve carbon neutrality in industries such as steelmaking and chemical industry, and to demonstrate the potential of the HTGR as a source of hydrogen in a decarbonized society.