Pre-design of MYRRHA, a multipurpose accelerator driven system for research and development

One of the main SCK-CEN research facility, namely BR2, is nowadays arriving at an age of 40 years just like the major materials testing reactors (MTR) in the world and in Europe (i.e. BR2 (B-Mol), HFR (EU-Petten), OSIRIS (F-Saclay), R2 (S-Studsvik)). The MYRRHA facility in planning has been conceived as potentially replacing BR2 and to be a fast spectrum facility complementary to the thermal spectrum RJH (Réacteur Jules Horowitz) facility, in planning in France. This situation would give Europe a full research capability in terms of nuclear R&D. Furthermore, the disposal of radioactive wastes resulting from industrial nuclear energy production has still to find a fully satisfactory solution, especially in terms of environmental and social acceptability. Scientists are looking for ways to drastically reduce (by a factor of 100 or more) the radio-Toxicity of the High Level Waste (HLW) to be stored in a deep geological repository. This can be achieved via burning of minor actinides (MA) and to a less extent of long-lived fission products (LLFP) in Accelerator Driven Systems. The MYRRHA project contribution will be in helping to demonstrate the ADS concept at reasonable power level and the demonstration of the technological feasibility of MA and LLFP transmutation under real conditions.