The UK currently has a stake in two reactor designs but is in the process of disposing of its interest. One is the Pebble-Bed reactor, whose design and development are now being spearheaded by Eskom in South Africa, which already has one nuclear power plant at Keoberg. The Pebble-Bed reactor is very closely based on high-temperature gas reactor designs, with small spherical fuel elements made of graphite and uranium. The Pebble Bed is at the detailed design phase and as such is unlikely to be on the drawing board for a new reactor in the UK. The UK's second stake in anew reactor is via BNFL's Westinghouse subsidiary, in the form of the AP600 and its larger variant the AP1000.

Inspec keywords: fission reactor fuel; gas cooled reactors; nuclear power stations; fission reactor design

Other keywords: uranium; spherical fuel element; UK nuclear programme; graphite; pebble bed reactor; nuclear power plant design; high-temperature gas reactor design

Subjects: Fission reactor design