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who we are |
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Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (Pty) Limited (PBMR) was
established in 1999 with the intention to develop and market
small-scale, high-temperature reactors both locally and internationally. |
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The 800-member PBMR project team is based in Centurion near Pretoria, South Africa (map). |
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The PBMR is a High Temperature Reactor (HTR) with a
closed-cycle, gas turbine power conversion system. Although it is
not the only HTR currently being developed in the world,
the South
African project is on schedule to be the first commercial scale HTR in the
power generation field. Very high efficiency and
attractive economics are possible without compromising the high levels
of passive safety expected of advanced nuclear designs. |
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what is PBMR? |
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The PBMR essentially comprises: |
A steel pressure vessel which holds the enriched
uranium dioxide fuel encapsulated in graphite spheres. The system
is cooled with helium and heat is converted into electricity through a
turbine. |
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The plant comprises (1) a module building with the
reactor pressure vessel (RPV) and the power conversion unit (PCU). |
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why PBMR? |
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Safe, clean, cost-competitive, versatile, and adaptable.
These, in a nutshell, are the features of South Africa's Pebble Bed
Modular Reactor (PBMR). |
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project status |
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From a small research and development company with barely 100 employees at its inception in 1999, Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (Pty) Ltd has grown into one of the largest nuclear reactor design teams in the world. In addition to the core team of some 800 people at the PBMR head-office in Centurion near Pretoria, more than a 1000 people at universities, private companies and research institutes are involved with the project. |
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Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (Pty) Limited is a public-private partnership comprising the South African government, nuclear industry players and utilities. The PBMR is a strategic national project due to its significance to South Africa and its potential in international markets, as a prospective provider of safe, clean energy. |
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"The
South African PBMR technology will become the world's first
successful commercial generation IV reactor." |
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Dr Regis Matzie, senior vice-president and chief technology officer of Westinghouse |
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how safe is PBMR? |
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The PBMR has inherently safe features as a result of the design, materials
used, fuel and physics involved. |
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This is why, should a worst-case scenario occur, no human
intervention is required in the short or medium term. |
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making headlines |
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Watch Out For The Little Guy |
- The big news of 2008 was the crashing of the big guys in business and money hitting the forest floor. They were falling out of the trees like monkeys drunk on over-ripe maroela berries.
These were the cultural icons of the last century, like Woolworths, General Motors and the Halifax Building...
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news releases |
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2009/02/05 - PBMR considering change in product strategy |
- The global financial crisis and related impact on funding – particularly on the South African electricity utility Eskom – has prompted the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) company to consider near-term market opportunities based on customer requirements to service both the electricity and process...
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