​Recent progress in the field of high-temperature materials and components has put these types of reactors again in the forefront of research and development. After the work already initiated on MAGNOX reactors, gas-cooled reactors have been considerably modernized and could eventually challenge the current supremacy of PWRs, at least in certain areas or specific applications. Industrial-scale implementations of slow-neutron versions are foreseeable in the medium term. Fast-neutron versions (more prospective) offer additional possibilities for energy-efficient use of natural uranium resources by using a fuel cycle that minimises final waste production and proliferation risks. 

This monograph covers the current research on these types of reactors, describing the research challenges involved, the recent results achieved at the CEA and the obstacles that remain to be overcome.

Summary

• Introduction
  
• the first gas-cooled graphite-moderated reactors
  
• High-Temperature Reactors (HTRs)
  
• Very High-Temperature Reactors (VHTRs)
  
• Gas-cooled fast Reactor (GFR)