High-temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs) are a mature form of technology that could provide a stable supply of high-temperature heat and be flexibly designed to meet different requirements in size and performance for industrial applications – resulting in a reduction in fossil fuel use and greenhouse gas and other emissions, the Nuclear Energy Agency has said.

According to an NEA paper on HTGRs, studies suggest the market size for nuclear heat is big enough for HTGRs to gain economy of scale through a fleet approach.

With some penalties in efficiency, HTGRs could deliver even higher temperatures of low-carbon process heat by using temperature boost technologies, such as electric heaters and fuel-fired burners.