A roadmap for developing ATW technology: System scenarios & integration

A roadmap has been established for development of ATW Technology. The roadmap defines a reference system along with preferred technologies, which require further development to reduce technical risk, associated deployment scenarios, and a detailed plan of necessary R&D to support implementation of this technology. The potential for international collaboration is discussed which has the potential to reduce the cost of the program. A reference ATW plant design was established to ensure consistent discussion of technical and life cycle cost issues. Over 60 years of operation, a reference ATW plant would process about 10,000 tn of spent nuclear reactor fuel. This is in comparison to the current inventory U.S. of about 40,000 tn of spent fuel and the projected inventory of about 86,000 tn of spent fuel if all currently licensed nuclear power plants run until their license expire. The reference ATW plant was used together with an assumed scenario of no new nuclear plant orders in the U.S. to generate a deployment scenario for ATW. In the R&D roadmap, key technical issues are identified, and timescales are proposed for the resolution of these issues. A key recommendation is that, in the first year of any ATW program, trade studies intended to confirm technology choices and optimization of design be conducted. These studies will then be used to define future R&D. International collaboration will be important in this endeavor.