Panel discussion

R. SCHULTEN, KFA, Julich

The German programme was started five years ago with two companies - the Rhienbraun and the Bergbau-Forschung companies - working with KFA on a programme of nuclear coal gasification. The main task for the Research Centre for the HTR was to develop the high temperature reactor for temperatures of about 950 C (we believe that this temperature of 950 C is correct to start with for nuclear process heat and we are using it in our reactor in Julich). We have made detailed investigations into the materials and technology necessary to put out helium heat to a chemical circuit. For these reasons we have built a test rig called EVA, which has been in operation in Julich for three years. The programme for nuclear process heat is a very important one because most people in Germany are sure that we have to go over, in the long term for almost all energy applications, to atomic energy. We also have to make heat as well as electricity from atomic energy. We are almost sure that we have to go completely over to the new energy combined with the use of coal and brown coal. The only question is our method of doing it should we do it quickly or slowly? The proposals for the development programme in Germany are to build and operate in the next ten years the first 1000 MW thermal prototype plant to make SNG as the first step of the development. In the next three years we will build the first prototype for a steam reformer, the size of which may be typical for a nuclear power station (helium heated). There will also be effort in the field of material technology and the main task is to get the technology ready in about ten years.