[en] Outline: 1. System overview; 2. Status of Cooperation, Projects and Highlights: - Materials; - Fuel and Fuel Cycle; - Hydrogen Production; - Computational Methods, Validation & Benchmarks. 3. Interaction with other GIF groups; 4. Future collaborative projects; 5. Related International Activities; 6. Wrap-up.

[en] Wrap-up: GIF VHTR projects share expertise and infrastructure and progress well; - FFC and MAT projects are in a productive harvesting phase; - HP and CMVB projects were successfully revitalized (increased interest from energy system integration, improved personal commitments); - Excellent collaborative achievements confirm usefulness of GIF; - Several countries active in VHTR (several companies, new projects): - Safety, high efficiency, process heat applications (steam, H₂); - PRIME [Poly-generation Reactor with Inherent safety, Modularity and Economic competitiveness (EU,US,JA,KOR)], Test Reactor and Demo in PL BATAN (Indonesia), StarCore Nuclear (Canada), X-Energy (US); - HTTR (Japan) accelerated regulator OK would be extremely positive; - HTR-10 (China) is running; - HTR-PM (China) start-up at end-2018. - Synergistic cooperation with IAEA and OECD/NEA.

[en] The Helium Cooled Pebble Bed (HCPB) blanket is one of the two concepts to be further developed for a European DEMO power reactor. Tritium leakage due to the permeation through the main structural materials constitutes one of the main problems of the fusion technology. In the present work, the tritium permeation through and inventory in the first wall between the plasma and the first wall coolant has been evaluated. The influence of temperature gradient, surface conditions, isotopic effect, and trapping in ion- and neutron-induced defects on the hydrogen isotope permeation and inventory has been considered

[en] Thermonuclear fusion power stations based on the deuterium-tritium reaction require breeding blankets to produce the tritium (T) fuel consumed in the plasma. This paper resumes the state-of-the-art of the T related technology from the initial T production in the lithium-bearing breeder material to a T stream which is ready for re-injection into the plasma. The remaining development issues are outlined and conventional techniques are confronted with advanced methods requiring more R and D effort but promising certain advantages in return

[en] Established in 2001, the Generation IV International Forum (GIF) was created as a co-operative international endeavour seeking to develop the research necessary to test the feasibility and performance of fourth generation nuclear systems, and to make them available for industrial deployment by 2030. The GIF brings together 13 countries (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Japan, Korea, Russia, South Africa, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States), as well as Euratom - representing the 28 European Union members - to co-ordinate research and development on these systems. The GIF has selected six reactor technologies for further research and development: the gas-cooled fast reactor (GFR), the lead-cooled fast reactor (LFR), the molten salt reactor (MSR), the sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR), the supercritical-water-cooled reactor (SCWR) and the very-high-temperature reactor (VHTR). This thirteenth edition of the Generation IV International Forum (GIF) Annual Report covers 2020. In 2020, the GIF, as have all, had to adapt its way of working to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic situation. In the face of this, all GIF members made their best efforts to produce deliverables and fulfil their objectives in an optimized manner. In 2020 the GIF organization started its transition towards a new communications approach through a rebranding of its logo and web site. This transitional phase will lead the Generation IV International Forum to a new approach in line with the current situation: more virtual meetings and exchanges; a powerful and updated GIF web site to ease and simplify interactions between members; and regular communication through high standard monthly webinars and newsletters. Thus the GIF is ready to enter its third decade of existence in the particular context of a new energy paradigm and an unpredictable sanitary situation. Content: 1 - GIF membership, organization and R and D collaboration; 2 - Highlights from the year; 3 - Country reports: Australia, Canada, People's Republic of China, Euratom, France, Japan, Korea, Russian Federation, South Africa, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States; 4 - System reports: Gas-cooled fast reactor, Lead-cooled fast reactor, Molten salt reactor, Supercritical water reactor, Sodium-cooled fast reactor, Very-high-temperature reactor; 5 - Methodology working groups: Economic Modelling Working Group, Education and Training Working Group, Proliferation Resistance and Physical Protection Methodology Working Group, Risk and Safety Working Group; 6 - Task force reports: Advanced Manufacturing and Material Engineering Task Force, Research and Development Infrastructure Task Force; 7 - Market and industry perspectives and the GIF Senior Industry: Advisory Panel report, Market issues, Senior Industry Advisory Panel report; A1 - List of abbreviations and acronyms; A2 - Selection of GIF publications (2020).

[en] ARCHER, the current European R and D project on Advanced High-Temperature Reactors for Cogeneration of Heat and Electricity is expanding the HTR technology to support demonstration of nuclear cogeneration as an alternative to fossil fuel use in industry. Nuclear cogeneration is identified as a high-potential contribution to European energy policy and ARCHER is performed in line with European energy strategies and policy tools. The project consortium comprises of representatives of conventional and nuclear industry, utilities, technical support organisations, R and D institutes and universities. ARCHER is integrated internationally via the Generation IV International Forum and through collaboration within the project with international partners from the US, China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea; as well as through cooperation with the IAEA. As ARCHER deals with a nuclear technology that may become an important infrastructure asset in the future, the consortium decided to leap forward in its communication by addressing the general public with a telecast, similar to the documentary on CERN and the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), produced in 2009 by the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation ORF, available as Video-on-Demand at http://magazine.orf.at/alpha/programm/2009/091102_urknallmaschine.htm. During 45 minutes, the ARCHER telecast provides background information on the principles of nuclear power generation and will analyse without bias the pros and cons of Nuclear Cogeneration and High-Temperature Reactor technology. This paper presents the lessons learned in devising the documentary, discussing the dos and don'ts both from a scientists and journalists perspective and provides an insight into journalistic thinking and recommendations for communicating emotionally challenging topics like nuclear energy in a constructive manner. In the light of the Fukushima accident, every nuclear project is easily confronted with a sceptic general public - trustworthy communication is therefore more than ever critical. (authors)

[en] ARCHER, the current European R and D project on Advanced High-Temperature Reactors for Cogeneration of Heat and Electricity is developing HTR technology to support demonstration of nuclear cogeneration as an alternative to fossil fuel use in industry. Nuclear cogeneration is identified as a high-potential contribution to European energy security and ARCHER is performed in line with European energy strategies and policy tools. The project consortium comprises of conventional and nuclear industry, utilities, technical support organisations, R and D institutes and universities. ARCHER is integrated internationally via the Generation IV International Forum and through collaboration with international partners, as well as through cooperation with the IAEA. As ARCHER deals with a nuclear technology that may become an important infrastructure asset in the future, the consortium decided to leap forward in its communication by addressing the general public with a telecast, similar to the documentary on CERN and the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), produced in 2009 by the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation ORF, available as Video-on-Demand at http://magazine.orf.at/alpha/programm/2009/091102_urknallmaschine.htm. During 45 minutes, the ARCHER telecast provides background information on the principles of nuclear power generation and will analyse without any bias the pros and cons of Nuclear Cogeneration and High-Temperature Reactor technology. Now that the film shootings for the telecast are halfway through, it is time to reflect on the lessons learned in devising the documentary, the dos and don'ts both from a scientist's and journalist's perspective and as such to provide an insight into journalistic thinking and recommendations for communicating emotionally challenging topics like nuclear energy in a constructive manner. In the light of Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima, finding a way to ensure trustworthy communication vis-a-vis the general public is a clear MUST for the nuclear sector. (authors)

[en] The irradiation experiment HFR-EU1bis was performed by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre-Institute for Energy (JRC-IE) in the HFR Petten to test five spherical High Temperature Reactor (HTR) fuel pebbles of former German production with TRISO coated particles for their potential for very high temperature performance and high burn-up. The irradiation started on 9 September 2004 and was terminated on 18 October 2005 after 10 reactor cycles totaling 249 efpd and a maximum burn-up of 11.07% FIMA. The objective of the HFR-EU1bis test was to irradiate five HTR fuel pebbles at conditions beyond the characteristics of current HTR reactor designs with pebble bed cores, e.g. HTR-Modul, HTR-10 and PMBR. This should demonstrate that pebble bed HTRs are capable of enhanced performance in terms of sustainability (further increased power conversion efficiency, better use of fuel) and thus reduced waste production. The central temperature of all pebbles was kept as closely as possible at 1250 deg. C and held constant during the entire irradiation, with the exception of HFR downtime and power transients. This is the expected maximum central fuel temperature of a pebble bed VHTR with a coolant outlet temperature of 1000 deg. C. HFR-EU1bis should demonstrate the feasibility of low coated particle failure fractions under normal operating conditions and more specifically: - increased central fuel temperature of 1250 deg. C compared to 1000-1200 deg. C in earlier irradiation tests; - irradiation to a burn-up close to 16% FIMA, which is double the license limit of the HTR-Modul; due to a neutronics data processing error, the experiment was prematurely terminated at 11.07% FIMA maximum so that this objective was not fully achieved; - confirmation of low coated particle failure fractions due to temperature, burn-up and neutron fluence. This paper provides the irradiation history of the experiment including data on fission gas release. Post-irradiation examinations at NRG Petten and JRC-ITU Karlsruhe included the verification of the received neutron fluences, burn-up and spectrum. They will be followed shortly by safety-relevant heating tests at JRC-ITU to verify fission product retention by out-of-pile heating tests beyond 1600 deg. C

[en] Developers of High Temperature Reactors (HTR) worldwide acknowledge that the main asset for market breakthrough is its unique ability to address growing needs for industrial cogeneration of heat and power (CHP) owing to its high operating temperature and flexibility, adapted power level, modularity and robust safety features. HTR are thus well suited to most of the non-electric applications of nuclear energy, which represent about 80% of total energy consumption. This opens opportunities for reducing CO₂ emissions and securing energy supply which are complementary to those provided by systems dedicated to electricity generation. A strong alliance between nuclear and process heat user industries is a necessity for developing a nuclear system for the conventional process heat market, much in the same way as the electronuclear development required a close partnership with utilities. Initiating such an alliance is one of the objectives of the EUROPAIRS project just started in the frame of the EURATOM 7. Framework Programme (FP7) under AREVA coordination. Within EUROPAIRS, process heat user industries express their requirements whereas nuclear industry will provide the performance window of HTR. Starting from this shared information, an alliance will be forged by assessing the feasibility and impact of nuclear CHP from technical, industrial, economical, licensing and sustainability perspectives. This assessment work will allow pointing out the main issues and challenges for coupling an HTR with industrial process heat applications. On this basis, a Road-map will be elaborated for achieving an industrially relevant demonstration of such a coupling. This Road-map will not only take into consideration the necessary nuclear developments, but also the required adaptations of industrial application processes and the possible development of heat transport technologies from the nuclear heat source to application processes. Although only a small and short project (21 months), EUROPAIRS is of strategic importance: it will generate the boundary conditions for a rapid demonstration of collocating HTR with industrial processes as proposed by the European High Temperature Reactor Technology Network (HTR-TN). (authors)

[en] Since the late 1990, the European Union (EU) was conducting work on High Temperature Reactors (HTR) confirming their high potential in terms of safety (inherent safety features), environmental impact (robust fuel with no significant radioactive release), sustainability (high efficiency, potential suitability for various fuel cycles), and economics (simplifications arising from safety features). In April 2005, the EU Commission has started a new 4-year Integrated Project on Very High Temperature Reactors (RAPHAEL: Reactor for Process Heat And Electricity) as part of its 6^th Framework Programme. The European Commission and the 33 partners from industry, R and D organizations and academia finance the project together. After the successful performance of earlier HTR-related EU projects which included the recovery of some earlier German experience and the re-establishment of strategically important R and D capabilities in Europe, RAPHAEL focuses now on key technologies required for an industrial VHTR deployment, both specific to very high temperature and generic to all types of modular HTR with emphasis on combined process heat and electricity generation. Advanced technologies are explored in order to meet the performance challenges required for a VHTR (900-1000 deg C, up to 200 GWd/tHM). To facilitate the planned sharing of significant parts of RAPHAEL results with the signatories of the Generation IV International Forum (GIF) VHTR projects, RAPHAEL is structured in a similar way as the corresponding GIF VHTR projects. (authors)