Mignacca, B, Locatelli, G orcid.org/0000-0001-9986-2249 and Sainati, T (2020) Deeds not words: Barriers and remedies for Small Modular nuclear Reactors. Energy, 206. 118137. ISSN 0360-5442
Abstract
There is a growing interest in Small Modular nuclear Reactors (SMRs) driven mostly by the concerns in decarbonising the electricity and heat sectors. Despite the expected advantages of SMRs with respect to large reactors (e.g. construction schedule reduction, lower upfront investment per unit) and at least two decades of studies, investments in SMRs have been extremely limited. Leveraging a literature review, in-depth discussions, and a questionnaire survey, this paper aims to identify and rank general elements hindering SMR construction, specific licensing and regulatory elements affecting SMR construction, and elements favouring or hindering the reuse of SMR modules. The results show that financial and economic issues (including perceived investment risk, availability of cheaper technologies to generate electricity) are the main barriers for SMR construction. Government support for financing the first-of-a-kind and developing a supply chain could allow overcoming these barriers. Time, cost and risk of the licensing process are critical elements for SMR construction; therefore, policies should be in place to support stakeholders. The economic feasibility can hinder the opportunity of reusing SMR modules. Design and interface standardisation are the main enabling factors of reusing SMR modules. Further studies on SMR decommissioning through a "circular economy" lens are needed.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. |
Keywords: | Nuclear power; Small modular reactors; Modularisation; Circular economy; Licensing; Decommissioning |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Civil Engineering (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 15 Jun 2020 14:17 |
Last Modified: | 25 Jun 2023 22:18 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.energy.2020.118137 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:161890 |