Technology Management in the Nuclear Industry: The Pebble Bed Modular Reactor Experience

Abstract

This paper addresses a technology management process model that will augment the effectiveness of the technology programme (a focused grouping of technology projects) of the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) project. The PBMR is a high temperature gas cooled nuclear reactor that fulfils the requirements of a Generation IV reactor. Put into perspective, most operational nuclear reactors today are either Generation II or Generation III with a few Generation III+ developments nearing operational use. The project is generally described as being some five or more years ahead of other Generation IV efforts in South Korea, China and the USA. This places the South African PBMR project in a class of its own, invariably causing a situation where it is difficult to compare key technologies directly with current operational reactors. The PBMR project is sometimes described as a so-called "First of a Kind Engineering" or FOAKE project making an effective technology management model all the more important. South Africa is faced by a huge electric power shortage as far as capacity is concerned. Whereas the country always had the luxury of sufficient spare capacity and cheap electricity this has recently changed somewhat dramatically. At this stage there is no spare capacity available and if the country's economy grows at the government's aim point of circa 6% per annum a further 40,000 MW of capacity needs to be added to the circa 38,000 MW of current capacity. In addition, with the exception of a single nuclear power station (the only one on the Africa continent) most capacity is provided by coal-fired power stations. Apart from the obvious environmental impact of this there are further geographic and practical limitations that almost forces a move towards nuclear power. The South African Government has indicated its official acceptance of this route some time ago, evidence of which is the huge investment in the PBMR project. Not only will this lead to a very advanced reactor design, but also this project is seen as the impetus for the development of a nuclear industry. This adds to what is already a very complex situation as the project also is expected to be a driving force behind human development in the high technology sphere. Invariably this leads to a more formal approach to choosing projects that will satisfy the PBMR technology needs as well as forming the vehicle for advanced manpower development and training. This paper describes the development of such a model from a successful technology programme that initially focused mostly on specific technology projects with scant regard of the effective management of these from a technology management perspective. It is generally accepted that it is poor practice to attempt developments of new unproven technologies as part of the critical path of capital projects such as the PBMR. It is desirable to move such technology projects to a dedicated technology programme where the focus will remain on the specific technologies, and should these turn out to be less than successful, not influence the large project too negatively. This said, the challenge lies in being able to identify the correct mix of technology projects, driving these to success and, importantly, identify appropriate insertion points of the outcomes of these technology projects into the capital project. This paper describes such a management model, its implementation and offers a glimpse into the first results of its application.