The NEREUS Project
A Naturally safe, Efficient, nuclear Reactor, Easy to operate, Ultimately simple and Small
This describes very well the aims of the design team and the only way in which a nuclear plant can be accepted by the markets of the non-professional energy producers, such as stand-alone heat production, Combined Heat & Power generation, stand-alone electricity production and ship propulsion. The (sea-going) HTR-GT is a modular installation consisting of an inherently safe, helium cooled, graphite moderated, High Temperature Reactor as heat source, directly or indirectly coupled to a recuperative closed-cycle or open Gas Turbine. This NEREUS installation has been discussed in the past, however the study at that time used a closed cycle helium gas turbine as energy conversion unit. This idea turned out to be too complicated and so too expensive for further studies regarding the applications as mentioned before.
Reasons for the NEREUS project
Non-technical reasons
The challenges facing our children and grandchildren are:
- impressive growth of the world population
- doubling of the energy use per head of the world population
- further growth of the shortage of fresh water
These are the building bricks of our peace, welfare and well-being. If these challenges are not properly met, conflicts and war will be their way of life.
Technical reasons
From the historical point of view the combination of a naturally safe, self-controlling and well-proven nuclear heat source and a gas turbine seems to be the next logical step in the history of energy conversion.
Conclusion
So how can we prepare our children and grandchildren to take on these challenges?
Professor R. Kouffeld, Delft University of Technology
NEREUS Models
The models of the NEREUS installation show a possible design of the installation and how it can be installed in a ship.