Jules Horowitz Reactor (JHR)
Cadarache, France [INTERNATIONAL] · Construction started 2007; expected completion delayed, initially 2016, now later. · Estimated €2.5 billion (current estimate, equivalent to approx. £2.1 billion at current exchange rates, significantly increased from initial €500 million)
The judgement call
Account-gated at launchJHR is a new European MTR designed to provide essential means for testing materials and fuels for future nuclear reactors, including Generation IV systems. - The project aims to revive European capabilities in material testing, which are crucial for the development of new nuclear technologies. - The significant cost overruns and delays highlight the complexities and technical difficulties inherent in cutting-edge nuclear infrastructure projects. - The reactor's design allows for the production of artificial radioisotopes, contributing to medical research and industrial applications.
Key engineering challenges
Designing and constructing a high-performance material testing reactor with advanced capabilities for studying materials and fuels under extreme irradiation conditions. - Managing significant cost increases and construction delays, common in complex nuclear projects. - Ensuring the integrity of the reactor core, which is made of aluminum (unlike traditional stainless steel cores), posing unique welding and material challenges. - Developing and integrating experimental loops and instrumentation to accurately simulate various operational environments (coolant, pressure, temperature). - Adhering to stringent nuclear safety and security regulations throughout design, construction, and operation.
Project facts
- Client / owner
- Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA) and international consortium (including EU partners)
- Lead contractor
- Various, with TechnicAtome involved in overall design and project management.
- Lead designers
- CEA, with contributions from international partners.
- Project type
- new build
- Scale
- High neutron flux (above 0.1 MeV); designed to test materials and fuels under irradiation; includes reactor building, experiment preparation, and analysis laboratories.
- Disciplines
- Nuclear engineering; mechanical; electrical; civil; structural; materials science; instrumentation and control; safety engineering
- Standards & frameworks
- French nuclear safety regulations (ASN); IAEA safety standards; relevant European and international nuclear engineering standards.
Sources: JHR Reactor: About (https://jhrreactor.com/en/about/) - ScienceDirect: The Jules Horowitz Reactor: a high performance material testing reactor (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1631070507002678) - Nuclear-News.net: The rocketing costs of Jules Horowitz materials testing reactor (JHR) hastened the demise of the ASTRID fast nuclear reactor project (https://nuclear-news.net/2019/09/01/the-rocketing-costs-of-jules-horowitz-materials-testing-reactor-jhr-hastened-the-demise-of-the-astrid-fast-nuclear-reactor-project/) - TechnicAtome: Jules Horowitz Reactor (https://www.technicatome.com/en/our-activities/nuclear-reactors-and-facilities/jules-horowitz-reactor/)