The Mitsubishi Small Module High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor “MHR-50/100is” — Present Design Status and Its Prospect for Commercialization

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has been carrying on development of a SMR for global strategic business and a conceptual design study of HTGR, namely MHR-50/100is having a high inherent safety and a high economical advantage for commercialization with supporting by Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA). To begin with, a design philosophy of the MHR-50/100is had been set and the next phase, a conceptual design including plant dynamics analysis to investigate operational function and plant controllable performance had been carried out. It has been improved to establish higher safety level to meet the safety requirements after TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Accident on March 11, 2011 in Japan.A market research and a financial analysis to review a feasibility of nuclear business have been studied. Consequently, it has concluded that the large market and the business potential will be prospected. We envisioned that it is effective for acceleration of MHR-50/100is utilization to show wider application of the nuclear energy in general industry as well as electricity generation. In the study cooperative with these users, we have studied on a practical applicability of MHR-50/100is in a typical general industry. A concept of the heat utilization plant consisting of the MHR-50/100is and hydrogen production plant has been developed; a safety concern has been evaluated. This paper reports a summary of a series of the conceptual design studies, and the various evaluation analyses in which we investigated a technical feasibility and a business potential of MHR-50/100is.Copyright © 2014 by ASME