On 13 September this year, the National Centre for Nuclear Research hosted participants of the 2nd Nuclear Power Congress. The guests listened to a presentation by Prof. Mariusz Dąbrowski – Head of the Nuclear Power and Environmental Analysis Department on the design of the Polish high-temperature reactor HTGR-POLA and visited the MARIA reactor and the Materials Research Laboratory.

The workshop aimed to strengthen cooperation in the field of nuclear power projects between science and business. During his speech, Prof. Dąbrowski indicated that the HTGR-POLA project is one of the few solutions of modern technology that is supposed to be designed and constructed in Poland. Most similar solutions are purchased in the form of ready-made know-how or modular solutions. After presenting the assumptions, schedule and current status of the works, as well as the potential of the discussed solutions on the Polish and European markets, the audience engaged in a lively discussion on the technical, legal and economic aspects of the proposed technology. It turns out that the current nuclear law is not yet fully adapted to Generation IV reactors. A team of scientists and engineers designing the reactor employed at the National Centre for Nuclear Research is involved in appropriate consultations in this area. This was made possible by conceptual and design work carried out as part of the HTR-PL, Gemini+, GOSPOSTRATEG-HTR projects and the current project commissioned by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education (until recently the Ministry of Education and Science). In the future, the developed reactors will be able to supply industrial plants with technical steam at temperatures above 400 degrees Celsius, and residential areas with electricity and municipal heat. The possibility of more efficient production of hydrogen at high temperature is also being considered.

After the presentation, the guests went to the MARIA reactor, where they saw the only operating nuclear reactor in Poland used for scientific research and the production of isotopes used in the production of radiopharmaceuticals. They also had the opportunity to see the infrastructure of the Materials Research Laboratory, recently equipped with the latest measuring equipment, where advanced alloys and materials are designed and tested, ensuring safety in extreme conditions prevailing both in the light water reactors commonly used today and in structures planned for construction in the future, including high-temperature reactors.