The THTR-300 was a helium-cooled high-temperature reactor in Hamm Uentrop with an electrical output of 300 megawatts. It was built 1983 and shut down in September 1989 finally. The THTR-300 served as prototype for high-temperature reactors (HTR). The establishment cost 2.05 billion euro and the quiet putting and the safe inclusion until at least 2027 costs 425 million euro.

With a thorium high-temperature reactor Thorium-232 is embedded in tennis ball-large Graphitkugeln (therefore it also pebble-bed reactor), which are cooled of helium as reactor coolants. From Thorium-232 the nuclear fuel Uran-233 results from neutron capture. At first something Uran-233 or another nuclear fuel must be present nevertheless, so that the reaction can begin. The helium is warmed up and produced thereby to approx. 1000 "°C over a heat exchanger steam for a turbine, which feeds assistance of a Drehstomgenerators electric current into electricity mains.

The nuclear power station THTR-300, an abbreviation for thorium high-temperature reactor with 300 megawatts of electrical achievement, was finished only late by the HKG high temperature nuclear power station GmbH in Uentrop with Hamm from 1970 to 1983 due to ever newer editions and licensing procedures.

The inauguration took place via the Federal Secretary of Research at that time Dr. Heinz Riesenhuber and first start-up with a keeping nuclear chain reaction took place on 13 September 1983. Only on 9 April 1985 however the partial permission of the atomiclegal authorizing agency and the first electricity mains feed took place took place on 16 November 1985.

The THTR-300 was laid out and comparable as commercial nuclear power station for the use of usable electricity with the away pc. Vrain reactor in the USA. It possessed a high-temperature reactor with globular cluster core, consisting of approx. 670,000 approximately 6 cm large ball fuel elements with Uran-235 and Thorium-232 with core walls of graphite, and with helium was cooled. It became consisting of the build-implementing enterprise consortium of the companies Brown Boveri & Cie (BBC), their daughter high temperature reactor construction GmbH (HRB) and the NUKEM GmbH in an integrated helium-close prestressed concrete tank technology implemented. The thermal achievement of the reactor amounted to 750 megawatts and was used to produce over a steam turbine system an electrical output of 307 megawatts. The waste heat from the power station process was exhausted with the help of a dry cooling tower.

The THTR 300 applied due to the operational principle, with which no core melt-through can occur, as substantially safer than other reactor types. But it gave technical problems, how e.g. substantially higher ball break than precalculated, and those reprocessing of the thorium fuel elements was not guaranteed.

Apart from these problems an accident to 4 led. May 1986, a changed political surrounding field as well as economic considerations to the fact that on 1 September 1989 the quiet putting of the THTR-300 was decided. On 10 October 1991 became the 180 meters high dry cooling tower, which became at that time highest cooling tower of the world, blown up and from 22 October 1993 to April 1995 the Brennelemete in Castor containers into the temporary storage facilities Ahaus transported. Considerations, the cooling tower as technical monument to received, failed from cost reasons.

The reactor was transferred of far costs annually until 1997 into the "safe inclusion in such a way specified" and causes at a value of 6,5 millions "€ and contains still approx. 390 tons atomic scrap iron (radioactive equipment construction parts). At the earliest 2027, after fading away the radioactivity, he can be finally torn off.

From 1985 to 1989 the THTR-300 registered only 16,410 operation hours with an achievement at electrical work of 2.891.000 MWh according to a full load actual working time of 423 days (16,410 hours = 393.84 days).

Already 1982 planned the group of firms Brown Boveri & Cie (BBC) and high temperature reactor construction GmbH (HRB) with a HTR-500 the successor of the HTHR-300 with a thermal output of 1250 megawatts and an electrical output of 500 megawatts.

Related links

• http://www.thtr.de/index.htm
• http://www.thtr-a.de.
• Forget blocked, welded. 1.5 Kilos atomic scrap iron under five meters concrete: The 1989 switched off thorium high-temperature reactor in Hamm Uentrop is its own temporary storage facilities article in: the daily paper, 1 February 2005
• Detail to the cooling tower

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