Present status of energy in Japan and HTTR project

Ogawa, Masuro; Nishihara, Tetsuo

Nuclear Engineering and Design, 233(1-3), p.5 - 10, 2004/10

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nucengdes.2004.07.018

An amount of primary energy supply in Japan is increasing year by year. Much energy such as oil, coal and natural gas is imported so that the self-sufficiency ratio in Japan is only 20 % even if including nuclear energy. An amount of energy consumption is also increasing especially in commercial and resident sector and transport sector. As a result, a large amount of greenhouse gas was emitted into the environment. Nuclear energy plays the important role in energy supply in Japan. Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI) has been carried out research and development of a hydrogen production system using a high temperature gas cooled reactor (HTGR). The HTTR project aims at the establishment of the HTGR hydrogen production system. Reactor technology of the HTGR, hydrogen production technology with thermochemical water splitting process and system integration technology between the HTGR and a hydrogen production plant are developed in the HTTR project.