To ensure a stable supply of energy, domestic technology must be passed down and further developed. Japan must proactively take part in international projects and make an effort to prevent its technology for nuclear power generation from disappearing.
It has been reported that the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. will provide technical cooperation on a project to construct a next-generation fast reactor in Wyoming that has been planned by the U.S. Energy Department and U.S. nuclear start-up TerraPower, LLC.
With liquid sodium as a cooling material, fast reactors can use nuclear fuel more efficiently than conventional nuclear power plants. They also produce a smaller amount of high-level radioactive waste during power generation. Fast reactors can be described as a key technology that must be steadily developed for the future.
