An overview of some of the materials issues behind AGR nuclear reactor life extensions and PWR (Pressured Water Reactor) new build

A recent lecture was given by Chris Hamm of British Energy (now existing nuclear part of EDF Energy, London/UK), at Rolls Royce in Derby/UK. Chris started his lecture with an icebreaker or, to be more precise, a picture of the Russian ice breaker ship, “Kapitan Khlebnikov“. This was used as an example to give us a stark warning of how global warming is shrinking the polar ice caps and with it the ice flows such as those along the North-West Passage from the Bering Strait to Greenland. This is where these ships operate and if global warming is unchecked icebreakers could be a thing of the past.