i-Nuclear update: GE Hitachi says Prism feasible, could be built in UK with US govt. financial support

GE Hitachi says Prism feasible, could be built in UK with US government financial support   by I-Nuclear

A Prism fast reactor could be built at Sellafield to burn the UK’s large civil stockpiles of plutonium with financing support from the US Export-Import Bank, GE Hitachi officials said July 9.

GE Hitachi said it submitted a feasibility study to the UK Nuclear Decommissioning Authority July 9 showing how it could use its Prism fast reactor to dispose of the UK’s 84 tonnes of plutonium.

The feasibility study included an independent assessment of the licensability of the reactors by DBD Limited. DBD Limited assessed the fast reactor design against the UK’s Safety Assessment Principles and found that there was “no fundamental impediment” to licensing the reactor in the UK, GE Hitachi said.

GE Hitachi said the US government has approved export of the Prism technology to the UK and is interested in helping to finance the project through the US Export-Import Bank.