Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 18, 2026
09:18
Laser-heating and Radiance Spectrometry for the Study of Nuclear Materials in Conditions Simulating a Nuclear Power Plant Accident
Published on: December 14, 2017
Expert judgments about RD&D and the future of nuclear energy
Laura D Anadón1, Valentina Bosetti, Matthew Bunn
1John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, 79 John F. Kennedy Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA. laura_diaz_anadon@harvard.edu
Environmental Science & Technology
|September 26, 2012
Summary
Nuclear energy experts predict rising costs for current and future reactor designs without increased government research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) funding. Experts recommend doubling RD&D investment to enhance safety and waste management, despite modest cost reduction expectations.
Area of Science:
- Nuclear Engineering
- Energy Policy
- Expert Elicitation
Background:
- Current nuclear energy systems (Gen. III/III+) face cost challenges.
- Future nuclear designs (Gen. IV, SMRs) are projected to be more expensive by 2030 without increased R&D.
- Government funding significantly influences nuclear technology development and deployment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To estimate the future cost and performance of nuclear energy systems.
- To assess the impact of varying government research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) spending scenarios.
- To gather expert consensus on optimal RD&D investment and allocation for nuclear technology.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a novel elicitation approach combining individual and group methods.
- Surveyed 30 U.S. and 30 European nuclear technology experts.
- Collected probabilistic estimates on cost, performance, and RD&D impact.
Main Results:
- Experts anticipate higher costs for Gen. III/III+, Gen. IV, and SMRs by 2030 under current funding levels.
- Unanimous recommendation for 2-3x increase in government RD&D funding.
- RD&D expected to modestly impact cost but significantly improve safety, waste management, and resource utilization.
- Agreement on prioritizing very high temperature reactors, sodium-cooled fast reactors, fuels/materials, and fuel cycle technologies.
Conclusions:
- Increased government RD&D funding is crucial for advancing nuclear energy technology.
- Strategic investment can enhance safety and sustainability, even if cost reductions are modest.
- Expert consensus guides future RD&D priorities for next-generation nuclear systems.
Related Concept Videos
02:36Nuclear Power
Controlled nuclear fission reactions are used to generate electricity. Any nuclear reactor that produces power via the fission of uranium or plutonium by bombardment with neutrons has six components: nuclear fuel consisting of fissionable material, a nuclear moderator, a neutron source, control rods, reactor coolant, and a shield and containment system.
Nuclear Fuels
Nuclear fuel consists of a fissile isotope, such as uranium-235, which must be present in sufficient quantity to provide a...
Nuclear Fuels
Nuclear fuel consists of a fissile isotope, such as uranium-235, which must be present in sufficient quantity to provide a...
03:18Nuclear Stability
Protons and neutrons, collectively called nucleons, are packed together tightly in a nucleus. With a radius of about 10−15 meters, a nucleus is quite small compared to the radius of the entire atom, which is about 10−10 meters. Nuclei are extremely dense compared to bulk matter, averaging 1.8 × 1014 grams per cubic centimeter. If the earth’s density were equal to the average nuclear density, the earth’s radius would be only about 200 meters.
To hold positively charged protons together in the...
To hold positively charged protons together in the...
02:50Nuclear Fission
Many heavier elements with smaller binding energies per nucleon can decompose into more stable elements that have intermediate mass numbers and larger binding energies per nucleon—that is, mass numbers and binding energies per nucleon that are closer to the “peak” of the binding energy graph near 56. Sometimes neutrons are also produced. This decomposition of a large nucleus into smaller pieces is called fission. The breaking is rather random with the formation of a large number of different...
03:20Nuclear Transmutation
Nuclear transmutation is the conversion of one nuclide into another. It can occur by the radioactive decay of a nucleus, or the reaction of a nucleus with another particle. The first manmade nucleus was produced in Ernest Rutherford’s laboratory in 1919 by a transmutation reaction, the bombardment of one type of nuclei with other nuclei or with neutrons. Rutherford bombarded nitrogen-14 atoms with high-speed α particles from a natural radioactive isotope of radium and observed protons being...
01:42Nuclear Export
The nucleus restricts several proteins within and allows others to pass. The restricted proteins possess a nuclear retention sequence or NRS, anchoring them to the nuclear lamins and preventing their transport to the cytosol. The non-restricted proteins, after their synthesis, are transported to their site of action, such as the cytosol or other organelles, with the help of nuclear export signals or NES.
NES are of three types- the canonical 10-residue long leucine-rich signal and other...
NES are of three types- the canonical 10-residue long leucine-rich signal and other...
03:18Radioactivity and Nuclear Equations
Nuclear chemistry is the study of reactions that involve changes in nuclear structure. The nucleus of an atom is composed of protons and, except for hydrogen, neutrons. The number of protons in the nucleus is called the atomic number (Z) of the element, and the sum of the number of protons and the number of neutrons is the mass number (A). Atoms with the same atomic number but different mass numbers are isotopes of the same element.
A nuclide of an element has a specific number of protons and...
A nuclide of an element has a specific number of protons and...