In recent years, evidence has been accumulating which indicates that global climate change is a reality. Even with measures to improve energy efficiency, global energy demand will surely rise well above the current level. Globally, renewable sources are unlikely to be able to meet the increased demand and there must be a heavier emphasis on carbon-free nuclear power to meet the shortfall. Both the Generation IV Initiative and the IAEA's INPRO project can be cited as evidence that many countries are taking positive steps to address increased demand for nuclear power. The first of the Generation IV plants might well be operational by 2030, and the question of the technical and economic driving factors is one that the international Generation IV research effort will need to address. With engineering lives of up to 60 years, light water reactors (LWRs) currently operational and those currently under construction or planned can be expected to be still operational well into the second half of this century. Generation IV systems will therefore need to operate alongside these LWRs. This provides a point of reference that can be used to define some of the technical and economic driving factors that the Generation IV systems will need to meet. Light water reactor fuels have demonstrated a very high degree of reliability, and Generation IV fuels will at the very least be expected to match this. Utilities are used to the fuel cycle costs of their LWRs and will not want to pay substantially more for Generation IV fuel cycles. The paper develops this theme as a means of defining the technical and economic constraints that Generation IV systems will need to meet.
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