MHI, Hitachi reviving Japan’s nuclear power industry

After Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, in late August, ordered the development and construction of new nuclear power plantsJapan’s nuclear power plant builders are following up quickly with new and safer reactors.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) today unveiled a conceptual design for a new light water reactor with additional safety features. The next day, he reported on September 30 that Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy was also designing its own new reactor with enhanced safety features.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries

Developed jointly with four Japanese power companies – Hokkaido Electric Power, Kansai Electric Power, Shikoku Electric Power and Kyushu Electric Power – the MHI reactor meets regulatory requirements for “resilience to natural disasters and security against terrorism and unforeseen circumstances.” It is advertised as

SRZ-1200 is a 1200MWe class new light water reactor that incorporates the lessons learned from the Fukushima Daiichi accident. Lessons learned manifest themselves as safety mechanisms “including, but not limited to, advanced accumulator designs and systems that effectively reduce the potential for radioactive release in the event of a postulated accident.” SRZ stands for Secure, Resilient, Ultimate (Z in A-to-Z).

Light water reactors are cooled with ordinary water. There are three types: pressurized, boiling, and supercritical. MWe stands for Megawatts electric, the electrical output of a power plant. An average nuclear power plant produces 1000MWe or 1GWe (gigawatts).

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is a specialist in pressurized water reactors (PWRs) in Japan. Involved in the construction and maintenance of all 24 of his PWRs built in Japan, all but the first few being designed, manufactured and built.

According to the World Nuclear Association, Japan currently has 33 reactors classified as operational. Of these, 16 are PWRs and 17 are boiling water reactors (BWRs). His two other nuclear power plant construction companies in Japan, Hitachi and Toshiba, use BWR technology.

Accumulators are passive injection devices that replenish reactor coolant in the event of a loss-of-coolant accident, the type of accident that caused the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident.

“Furthermore,” the press release continues. The ability to adapt the SRZ-1200 to hydrogen production has also been researched to ensure that all potential uses of the energy generated from this plant are efficiently and positively applied to all social needs. . ”

MHI is entering the basic design stage with the aim of making Japan’s energy safe, stable, and decarbonized. Currently, commercialization is expected in the mid-2030s. If the SRZ-1200 succeeds, it may lead to the revitalization of MHI’s overseas nuclear power business.

Hitachi-GE

Hitachi-GE’s entry will be an advanced BWR with a passive cooling system (no power required) and a radiation-filtering ventilation system.

It addresses the two main causes of the Fukushima nuclear accident. His website for Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) states:

DUE TO THE FLOODING CAUSED BY THE TSUNAMI, THE EMERGENCY POWER SUPPLY EQUIPMENT BECAME UNUSABLE, AND THE COOLING EQUIPMENT BECAME UNUSABLE. AS A RESULT, THE WATER IN THE PRESSURE VESSELS OF UNITS 1-3 EVAPORATED AND THE WATER LEVEL DROPPED.

AS THE WATER LEVEL DROPS, FUEL RODS (RODS FILLED WITH NUCLEAR FUEL SUCH AS URANIUM) [BECAME] EXPOSED FROM THE WATER SURFACE, HYDROGEN IS PRODUCED BY A CHEMICAL REACTION BETWEEN THE FUEL RODS AND WATER VAPOR. THIS HYDROGEN ACCUMULATED INSIDE THE REACTOR BUILDINGS, CAUSING HYDROGEN EXPLOSIONS AT UNITS 1 AND 3, BLOWING OFF THE CEILINGS AND WALLS OF THE REACTOR BUILDINGS.

IN UNIT 4, IT IS PRESUMED THAT HYDROGEN FLOWED INTO THE REACTOR BUILDING FROM THE JOINT VENTILATION PIPE FOR DISCHARGING THE AIR IN THE UNIT 3 CONTAINMENT VESSEL, ACCUMULATED IN THE REACTOR BUILDING, AND CAUSED THE EXPLOSION.

Hitachi-GE’s new reactor is also expected to be commercialized in the mid-2030s. Meanwhile, the Japanese government has restarted many of the nuclear reactors shut down after the Fukushima nuclear accident. It is also considering extending the current 60-year nuclear power plant operating limit.

GEH and small modular reactors

Hitachi has two joint ventures with General Electric, Hitachi GE Nuclear Energy in Japan and GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) overseas. In early September, GEH and Sheffield Forgemasters announced an agreement to work together on the potential deployment of his BWRX-300 Small Modular Reactor (SMR) in the UK.

The BWRX-300 is a 300MW boiling water reactor with passive safety features designed to provide flexible baseload power at competitive prices with natural gas combined cycle plants. On a per MW basis, it is cheaper to build than a conventional nuclear power plant.

look “Small Modified Nuclear Reactor Fuels New Waste Controversy”

Sheffield Forgemasters designs and manufactures forgings and castings for use in the nuclear, thermal, renewable energy, steel, marine and defense industries. In December 2021, a contract was signed to manufacture forgings for the Rolls-Royce SMR.

CEO David Bond told the media:

SMR HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BECOME THE STANDARD FOR CIVILIAN NUCLEAR POWER GENERATION AND AS AN EMERGING TECHNOLOGY OUR YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN SUPPLYING NUCLEAR GRADE COMPONENTS BRING TO THE MARKET A WEALTH OF TECHNICAL FORGING EXPERIENCE. SHEFFIELD FORGEMASTERS IS TRANSFORMING TO INDUSTRY 4.0 MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY. AT ITS CORE, IT WILL INVEST UP TO £400M OVER 10 YEARS TO REPLACE THE COMPANY’S DEFENSE-CRITICAL ASSETS. WE LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH GEH TO EXPLORE THE POSSIBILITY OF BECOMING HIS CHAIN PARTNER, A UK SUPPLY SUPPLIER OF COMPLEX NUCLEAR GRADE FORGINGS FOR THE COMMERCIAL BWRX-300 SMR BUILD PROGRAM.

Last March, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the UK government wanted nuclear power to cut 25% of the country’s energy.

It would also be a reversal for Hitachi, which pulled out of the Wylfa Newwid nuclear power plant project in Wales in 2020.

GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy is also working on SMR projects in Saskatchewan, Poland and Estonia. The first commercial BWRX-300 could be operational by the end of this decade.

Follow this writer on Twitter: @ScottFo83517667