12/17/2010 | Shooter

Almaty. September 24. Interfax-Kazakhstan - Within the program "Development of Nuclear Energy in Kazakhstan" that will be adopted this year, Kazakhstan plans to build the fourth-generation reactor, said general director of NNC (National Nuclear Center) Kairat Kadyrzhanov. A pilot HTGCR (High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor) will be built in 2018 udner the agreement signed with Japanese experts in Kurchatov, he told the Karavan newspaper on Friday. The reactor then will be used to build a heating generation facility for the city and then as a platform for a full-fledgling NPP, he said. According to Kadyrzhanov, HTGCR generates heat up to 1,000 degrees and could be used in heating generation, metal-making, oil refining and production of petrochemicals.  He said that HTGCR, Generation IV reactor, employs an environmentally safe technology to produce hydrogen viewed as a future fuel for vehicles. HTGCR (High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor)  "is safer and two or three times cheaper than other types of reactors," he said. It also generates a minimal amount of radioactive waste. He referred to the meeting of the presidents of Kazakhstan and Russia in Aktau two years ago, were the sides talked about joining forces to create the HTGR and move towards a hydrogen economy.