Institutional development · Research, innovation and assessment · Germany
TU Dresden plans experimental recycling reactor 'DEMO' in Saxony to tackle nuclear waste
TU Dresden has presented a concept for an experimental reactor that it says could turn high-level radioactive waste from German reactors into low-carbon energy and mostly short-lived radioactive material.
Why it matters: TU Dresden is putting forward its DEMO reactor concept on the basis of a feasibility study funded by the Free State of Saxony.
TU Dresden (TUD) has presented a concept for an experimental recycling reactor called DEMO, which it plans to build in Saxony.
According to the university, the concept would deal with high-level radioactive waste from German reactor operation by converting it into low-carbon energy and largely short-lived radioactive substances.
A feasibility study funded by the Free State of Saxony sets out how a molten-salt reactor could operate without conventional reprocessing, the university said.
TUD said this could remove the need for a final repository meeting the standards of Germany's Site Selection Act (StandAG) and could give Saxony global technology leadership with export opportunities.
Editor’s view
Scott James, Research and Innovation Editor
TU Dresden's DEMO reactor is so far a plan set out in a feasibility study funded by the Free State of Saxony; if the molten-salt approach works without conventional reprocessing as the university says, then by TUD's account a repository built to StandAG standards might not be needed.
