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HeFASTo is a concept of a small modular reactor based on the Gas-cooled Fast Reactor (GFR) technology, with thermal power of 200 MW and core outlet temperature reaching 900°C. It is envisaged as a versatile facility proving a wide range of services from electricity production, high-potential heat production for the connected chemical industry or for very effective hydrogen production, to the utilization of the fast spectrum to close the fuel cycle and produce minimum new spent fuel and other radioactive waste. This versatility should ensure that HeFASTo will not only be able to co-exist with a fleet of light water reactors but directly leverage on synergies such as spent fuel reprocessing.
The crucial advantage over graphite-moderated high-temperature gas-cooled reactors reaching similar power and temperature levels is the fact that is a pure fast spectrum reactor, enabling breeding of new fissile material on the go and utilization of reprocessed fuel from other reactors.
The design of HeFASTo is based on the maximum possible level of modularity and use of cutting-edge materials and technologies. The majority of components is designed as standardized parts ready for mass production with an assembly line, that will be completed in modules and just connected on the site. It should not only lower the construction costs but also means easier in-service inspections and repairs.
Top-level of safety is ensured by a variety of highly innovative fully passive safety systems, which function relies exclusively on the effect of basic physical phenomena such as gravitation and pressure difference.
Widespread commercial deployment of the reactor is connected with the predicted sharp increase in demand for mass production of hydrogen, as well as reprocessing of the spent fuel from the large fleet of light water reactors and is foreseen after 2040. Currently, the project is in its pre-conceptual phase, with an outlook for entry of a strategic investor after 2025.
