Superphénix nuclear reactor
The Superphénix nuclear reactor was a fast-breeder reactor located near Lyon, France, and operated from December 1985 until its closure in February 1998. Designed to generate 1,240 megawatts of power, it aimed to produce new fuel by utilizing surplus neutrons for the fission of plutonium. However, the reactor faced numerous technological issues, including recurring leaks in its liquid sodium cooling system, which led to a total operational time of just 278 days at full capacity. Financial challenges, exacerbated by low uranium prices, diminished the economic viability of its plutonium production.
In 1994, Superphénix was reclassified from a power-generating facility to a research reactor focused on burning plutonium. Despite attempts to revive the reactor, including a planned restart in 1997, it was permanently shut down due to economic factors following public protests and demands from environmental groups. The closure resulted in significant job losses in the local community and prompted a major reevaluation of France’s breeder reactor programs, influencing similar initiatives in other countries. The dismantling process for Superphénix began in 1999 and is expected to take several years, with substantial costs involved.
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Superphénix nuclear reactor
IDENTIFICATION: A fast-breeder nuclear reactor located near Lyon, France
DATES: Operated from December, 1985, to December, 1996
The technological problems that arose during the years that the Superphénix nuclear reactor was in operation, as well as the financial consequences of those problems, contributed to a loss of confidence in the development of commercial fast-breeder reactors in other nations.
After twelve years of construction, the Superphénix nuclear reactor, a 1,240-megawatt fast breeder, went into operation in Creys-Malville in the Lyon area of France in December, 1985. Breeder reactors maximize the production of new fuel by using surplus neutrons not required to sustain the chain reaction to produce more fissionable fuels, such as plutonium. However, the Superphénix breeder was continually plagued by accidents and incidents during the years it was in use, and it operated at full power for a total of only 278 days. The reactor’s cooling system, which used liquid sodium, repeatedly suffered costly shutdowns because of leaks. In addition, low uranium prices undercut the value of the plutonium fuel produced by Superphénix.
In 1994 it was decided that Superphénix would be converted from a breeder into a burner of plutonium and that the facility would be used only as a research tool. Consequently, on July 11, 1994, the license under which the facility operated was changed to reflect the fact that Superphénix was no longer a power reactor; it was licensed to operate as a research reactor for the demonstration of burning nuclear in breeder reactors. Superphénix was closed temporarily in December, 1996, for repair, maintenance, and reconstruction, with the plan to restart it in June, 1997. Based on procedural grounds, however, the reactor license was canceled in February, 1997. On June 6, Europeans Against Superphénix, a confederation of 250 environmental and antinuclear groups, demanded that Superphénix be shut down permanently. Subsequently, on June 19 newly elected French prime minister Lionel Jospin announced in his general policy statement to the parliament that operations at the Superphénix would be discontinued for economic reasons. Running Superphénix had cost France billions of dollars, and the nation had gained only approximately six months of electricity in return. The final announcement of the closure of Superphénix came on February 2, 1998. Many of the residents of Creys-Malville protested the shutdown; the facility had provided some thirteen hundred jobs in a town of twelve thousand people.
The dismantling of Superphénix began in 1999 and was predicted to last until 2025 at a cost of more than $1.76 billion. The closure of Superphénix made necessary a review and revision of the French breeder and plutonium programs. The shutdown struck a serious blow to the French breeder program and raised questions about breeder programs in other countries, particularly Japan, India, and Russia.
Bibliography
"Dismantling of Superphénix NNS in Creys-Malville, France." Boccard, 19 Sept. 2023, www.boccard.com/dismantling-of-superphenix-nns-in-creys-malville-france/. Accessed 23 July 2024.
Garwin, Richard L., and Georges Charpak. Megawatts and Megatons: The Future of Nuclear Power and Nuclear Weapons. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001.
Murray, Raymond L. Nuclear Energy: An Introduction to the Concepts, Systems, and Applications of Nuclear Processes. 8th ed. Burlington, Vt.: Butterworth-Heinemann/Elsevier, 2019.