Status of Future Reactor Technology Development in Korea

In order to provide a consistent direction to long-term R&D activities, the Korea Atomic Energy Commission (KAEC) approved a long-term development plan for future nuclear reactor systems which include sodium cooled fast reactor (SFR) and very high temperature reactor (VHTR) on December 22, 2008. The SFR system is regarded as a promising technology to perform actinide management. The final goal of the long-term SFR development plan is the construction of an advanced SFR demonstration plant by 2028. The nuclear hydrogen project in Korea aims at designing and constructing a nuclear hydrogen demonstration system by 2022 to demonstrate its hydrogen production capability. This paper summarizes the overall long-term project plans for SFR and VHTR technology development and explains results of detailed design studies with supporting R&D activities.