Generation III reactor

<p>Generation III reactors, or Gen III reactors, are a class of <a href="/facts/Nuclear_reactor/8xqjIbge">nuclear reactors</a> designed to succeed <a href="/facts/Generation_II_reactor/GmcWJqKz">Generation II</a> reactors, incorporating evolutionary improvements in design. These include improved <a href="/facts/Nuclear_fuel/8RhAomlJ">fuel technology</a>, higher <a href="/facts/Thermal_efficiency/fR0ysNpr">thermal efficiency</a>, significantly enhanced safety systems (including <a href="/facts/Passive_nuclear_safety/vMVWfQcD">passive nuclear safety</a>), and standardized designs intended to reduce maintenance and capital costs. They are promoted by the <a href="/facts/Generation_IV_reactor/ywkkrQ5P">Generation IV International Forum</a> (GIF).
</p><p>The first Generation III reactors to begin operation were <a href="/facts/Kashiwazaki-Kariwa_Nuclear_Power_Plant/00nVMBFS">Kashiwazaki 6 and 7</a> <a href="/facts/Advanced_boiling_water_reactor/2lRHFf8V">advanced boiling water reactors</a> (ABWRs) in 1996 and 1997. From 2012, both have been shut down due to a less permissive political environment in the wake of the <a href="/facts/Fukushima_nuclear_accident/E74heuvS">Fukushima nuclear accident</a>. Due to the prolonged period of stagnation in the construction of new reactors and the continued (albeit declining) popularity of Generation II/II+ designs in new construction, relatively few third generation reactors have been built.
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Generation III reactor open-in-new

Generation III reactor