The SC
ELITE MEMBER
- Joined
- Feb 13, 2012
- Messages
- 32,233
- Reaction score
- 21
- Country
- Location
Ambitious nuclear plans
Saudi Arabia is strongly committed to the development of nuclear energy. In October 2016, the Saudi cabinet reaffirmed the kingdom's right to a peaceful nuclear energy program.
Saudi Arabia has impressive nuclear targets and has concluded agreements with many international partners. However, progress in building nuclear reactors has been very slow. Saudi scientists have conducted countless feasibility studies dating back to the 1970s related to the development of nuclear power plants, but most of these plans never materialized. However, the Kingdom's goal is to produce nuclear power plants to generate 20 percent of electricity in Saudi Arabia by 2020.
Saudi Arabia appears to be interested in the full fuel cycle. At the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) conference in 2015, the head of R & D and Innovation at King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (KACARE), the national agency at the forefront of the nuclear agenda in Saudi Arabia, In which steps and components are specified for a nuclear power cycle that has "high localization potential". They are determined by a combination of economic gravity and comparative advantage. The list shows that the list is loose from a relative advantage to a relatively comparative advantage: operation and maintenance, valves, mining and milling, engineering, pipes, pumps, radioactive waste, fuel manufacturing, construction, spent fuel, processing and enrichment.
In 2010, King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (K.A.CARE) contracted with Poyry, a global engineering consultancy based in Finland, to formulate a feasibility study for its nuclear program. Through the company's work with KA Abdullah, it is clear that "Saudi Arabia ultimately wants to play a role in many stages of nuclear power generation." In addition, as the feasibility study concluded, the chief energy officer of Poyry UK said the possibility of enrichment and mining in Saudi Arabia, although initially they will rely on their outsourcing needs. The results of this study were not disclosed to the public.
A Saudi government official familiar with Saudi Arabia told the Institute of Science and International Security in 2014 that Saudi Arabia is actively seeking scientific and engineering expertise to lead all aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle.
Despite these ambitious plans, Saudi Arabia has neither power nor research reactors. Its nuclear infrastructure consists of particle accelerator, particle accelerators and rotary cyclutrons. Two test accelerators are used in nuclear physics; the Tandetron 3000 kilo-volt accelerator and a kilo-volt 350-kilowatt light-ion accelerator.
Many nuclear cooperation agreements
In May 2008, the United States and Saudi Arabia signed a memorandum of understanding on civil cooperation in the field of nuclear energy. According to a press release issued by the State Department:
The United States will assist Saudi Arabia in developing civilian nuclear energy for medical, industrial and power generation, and will assist in the development of human resources and infrastructure in accordance with the IAEA's advanced standards and standards. Saudi Arabia has announced its intention to rely on international markets for nuclear fuel and not to pursue sensitive nuclear technologies, which directly interferes with Iran's activities.
The memorandum of understanding did not lead to the demand for nuclear reactors from the United States. Indeed, this memo did not develop into a formal agreement whereby it abandoned the development of domestic fuel cycle capabilities and indicated that Saudi Arabia was seeking to maintain the option of developing such capabilities and possibly include uranium enrichment and reprocessing.
This is bolstered by a US initiative that began before 2014, which sought to sell reactors to Saudi Arabia while ensuring the supply of enriched uranium fuel. Low-enriched uranium will be produced at the US-funded centrifugal gas plant with Saudi funding. In return, the kingdom is committed not to reprocess spent fuel or build a domestic enrichment plant inside Saudi Arabia. The plan was to remove spent fuel to a third country for storage or disposal. Despite initial hopes, this plan has stalled. According to a person familiar with the discussions, among the reasons for changing the leadership in the royal family and the price of oil. He added that Saudi Arabia had given the impression that it was ready to accept non-enrichment or reprocessing, but the joint comprehensive work plan gave them second thoughts, which also indicates that Saudi Arabia keeps options for the fuel cycle open.
The Kingdom has continued its cooperation with many other countries, as it does not require a ban on reprocessing or enrichment as a condition for the supply of reactors. It has conducted a wide range of international nuclear agreements, which could significantly alter the limited nuclear infrastructure in Saudi Arabia.
In 2014, Saudi Arabia announced its plan to build 16 reactors or more over the next 20 years. A study in 2013 suggested three sites: "Jubail on the Arabian Gulf, Rabook and Jizan on the Red Sea," as nuclear reactor sites that would have about 18 gigawatts of power. A study in 2016 suggested ten other sites for nuclear reactors. According to the Saudi engineer magazine, a nuclear power plant will be built along each of the small canals in the vast desert region of the south in order to produce up to 50 gigawatts of electricity. For these plans, Saudi Arabia has sought assistance or signed agreements with a variety of countries, including Russia, France, China, Argentina, Hungary, Finland, Jordan and South Korea. The scope and scale of these agreements is very broad.
The 2015 agreement with Russia appears to provide the largest number of power reactors provided by one country, as well as research reactors and fuel cycle services. At an international forum held in Moscow in 2016, Rosatom confirmed plans to build 16 reactors in Saudi Arabia. The project is scheduled to run into 2030 and cost about $ 100 billion. As the International Nuclear Association stated:
The Treaty of Rosatom in June 2015 stipulated cooperation in the field of nuclear energy, including the design, construction, operation and shutdown of nuclear power and research reactors, including desalination plants and particle accelerators; the provision of nuclear fuel cycle services, including nuclear power plants and research reactors; Radioactive waste management; production and application of radioactive isotopes in industry, medicine and agriculture; and education and training of nuclear energy professionals.
The deal appears to cost Russian company Rosatom the responsibility to "manage spent nuclear fuel," which usually means Saudi Arabia will export its spent fuel to Russia. Because the fuel from the power reactors usually contains a large amount of plutonium, and these exports will limit the ability or at least drive Saudi Arabia to develop a civil reprocessing program. He did not say which type of reactors were specified in the public announcement, but the discussions were supposed to include large nuclear reactors. However, Saudi Arabia has so far shown general interest in smaller Russian reactors, including the Russian ABV 6-M reactor, the LWR. This reactor, with electrical power of 8.5 MW (MWe) requires fuel with higher levels of enrichment. Russian reactor fuel ABV-6M is enriched to approximately 20 percent (specifically 19.7 percent). It must be refueled once every 10 years. Saudi Arabia has also shown interest in the OBKM KLT-40S, a 70 megawatt floating power plant that operates about 20 percent of enriched uranium. Past experiences, such as the transfer of sensitive know-how and technology, may be referred to as proliferation and should be carefully monitored.
Saudi Arabia also signed an agreement with South Korea to build reactors. In 2011, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding. In 2015, the Kingdom contracted the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) to consider the feasibility of establishing two reactors in Saudi Arabia. These advanced reactors are integrated system modules (or SMART reactors) with 330 MW thermal power (MWth), compact water reactors with integrated steam generators, advanced safety features, with a 60-year life cycle, a three-year refueling cycle at a cost of $ 1 billion per who are they. Smart SMART is designed to generate up to 100 megawatts of power generation, as well as desalination of seawater. In June 2016, KEPCO E & C and the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) signed a contract to build a SMART Smart Reactor in Saudi Arabia. According to an article in the Okaz newspaper, the project will continue "30 months until November 2018". Because they use US technology, the Korean company needs a US license to build a nuclear reactor with an advanced integrated system, however, it is likely that this license will be granted. According to a US government official, it will certainly be built.
The SMART reactor uses standard fossil fuel from low-enriched uranium dioxide. No general information can be found indicating whether fuel supply or spent fuel management is part of the agreement. The reactor comes with a fuel storage consumer for 60 years on site, so fuel is likely to remain in Saudi Arabia during its course.
Saudi Arabia has expressed interest in developing the capacity to manufacture small-unit reactors (SMRs), such as SMART. In a presentation at a general conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in 2015, the head of research, development and innovation at the King Abdullah City of Atomic and Renewable Energy (KA.AARE) announced that Saudi Arabia had "a desire for full IP intellectual property for NSSS technology". The NSSS technology is a nuclear steam supply system, which consists of the core of the reactor, spiral-wrapped steam generators, and a built-in compressor compressor in the reactor pressure vessel. This information and other information in the presentation may indicate Saudi Arabia's ambitions to develop the capability to manufacture and possibly export SMR reactors.
In November 2016, Saudi Arabia signed a second memorandum of understanding with South Korea aimed at cooperation on nuclear safety systems. The memorandum of understanding was signed at the headquarters of the National Agency for Nuclear Works in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (K.A.CARE) in Riyadh. "The MoU aims to exchange experiences and practices in the areas of nuclear safety regulation, safeguards, physical protection, radiation prevention and related research, as well as development in a way that serves the atomic energy programs in Saudi Arabia," the statement said. The note was the culmination of five years of discussions.
In 2012, during Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to Saudi Arabia, the two countries signed a nuclear cooperation agreement on "the maintenance and development of nuclear power plants and research reactors, and the manufacture and supply of nuclear fuel components." Four years later, in January 2016, President Xi Jinping and King Salman signed a memorandum of understanding between the two countries signed by King Abdullah City of Atomic and Renewable Energy KA.CARE, Dr. Hashim bin Abdullah Yamani and CNEC President Wang Xu Jin. Under the agreement, China will supply Saudi Arabia with a high temperature reactor (HTR). The project schedule and cost are not known.
The high temperature reactor and gas coolant (HTR) of China has a capacity of 500 MWW, or 211 MW of MWe, a fuel cycle of 1057 days, and a 40-year reactor life. Its fuel contains uranium dioxide, enriched to 8.5 percent of uranium 235 (U-235). The contract is expected to come with fuel supplies for life.
An agreement was signed with France to study the feasibility of building two of the third generation of the European compact evolutionary reactor (EPR). The European Compact Reactor (EPR) is a very powerful reactor capable of producing 1,650 megawatts. It has a life span of 60 years, and the refueling cycle lasts from one to two years. Various types of fuel can be used: low enriched uranium (LEU), mixed oxide (MOX), or reprocessed uranium.
An article in Saudi Engineering magazine discussed discussions with Areva, the French nuclear firm, about cooperation in the training, development and organization of nuclear energy conferences. The Secretary-General of the Saudi Council of Engineers, Dr. Hussein Al-Fadhli, met with the Director of Areva for Business Development in the Middle East Amer Abdul Aziz Al-Rejaib. After the meeting, Fadhli said the coming period would see greater cooperation between the council and a number of public and private authorities.
An agreement with Argentina and the establishment of a joint venture under the name Invania for the development of nuclear technology in Saudi Arabia. Invania was the product of a technology company (Saudi Arabia) and Invap (Argentina), two research and development companies. Argentina could provide a small reactor, such as CAREM's central reactor, for desalination purposes. CAREM is an innovative 25mW innovative water reactor. LEU is fueled by 3.1 percent enriched, and has a fuel cycle of 14 months. Argentina may also provide hot cells for the reactor.
A Finnish agreement signed in 2014 with Saudi Arabia focuses on the creation of infrastructure advisory and safety infrastructure, and in 2015 signed an agreement with Hungary focusing on cooperation in safety and research.
In 2014, an article in Kyodo reported that Saudi Arabia and Japan were "accelerating" talks on cooperation on civilian nuclear energy, including the possibility of Japanese companies exporting reactors to the kingdom. There were no further talks.
Jordan and Saudi Arabia signed an agreement on cooperation in the field of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes in January 2014. The agreement was signed by Dr. Hashem Yamani, President of King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy KA.CARE and Dr. Khaled Touqan, Chairman of the Jordanian Atomic Committee. Under the deal, Saudi Arabia and Jordan will cooperate in various fields of nuclear energy. This includes basic and applied research in nuclear energy science, design, construction and operation of nuclear power plants or research reactors. The agreement also includes cooperation in prospecting, mining / metallurgy and processing of raw materials. Saudi Arabia and Jordan are also scheduled to cooperate in the management of radioactive waste and associated mineral exploitation.
In addition, the Agreement includes cooperation in innovative technologies for new generations of nuclear reactors and their engineering activities, production and application of radioisotopes and radiation techniques, nuclear safeguards, control and verification of nuclear materials, legislation and regulations and nuclear regulatory guidelines. Finally, they will cooperate in the area of safety, nuclear peace, radiation protection, environmental protection and human resources development. Dr. Yamani stressed in a statement to the press the importance of agreeing to achieve mutual benefit from information and experience.
Saudi Arabia has expressed interest in a wide range of reactors. According to KA.CARE, the "target list" of nuclear reactors includes several SMR reactors that operate on LEU, each with a 24-month fuel cycle. The innovative and safe International Reactor (IRIS) is a light, medium-sized LEU reactor. Power output up to 1000 megawatts.
Although the long-term future of nuclear energy in the Kingdom remains largely unclear, the latest agreements with France and South Korea have called for feasibility studies to continue for at least three years, after which the reactor can be built if conditions are favorable . Thus, it is reasonable to expect that Saudi Arabia is on track to build nuclear power reactors.
With all the discussions on obtaining nuclear reactors, which will use large quantities of nuclear material, Saudi Arabia will need to fully implement the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement (CSA). In an article published in the newspaper Al-Hayat in November 2015, it said that "an authorized Saudi authority revealed yesterday that its country has exceeded the limited quantities of enriched uranium to full implementation that supports the Saudi nuclear program ...", referring to statements by Dr. Yamani, Atomic and Renewable Energy. Dr. Yamani said this allowed Saudi Arabia to obtain nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. The Institute for Science and International Security explains this direct translation as evidence that Saudi Arabia is preparing to implement the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement (CSA), but it is not known whether it will also ratify the Additional Protocol, which is of great importance to nuclear non-proliferation.
Academic infrastructure
As of 2016, Saudi Arabia has 38 official universities, of which at least five are awarded the degree of relevant nuclear programs or are studying related nuclear materials: King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Dhahran, King Faisal University Abha, King Khalid University in Abha and King Saud University in Riyadh. The growth of the academic nuclear energy sector in recent years underlines the Saudi ambition to modernize and equip the future generation with "technical nuclear capabilities".
In the Faculty of Engineering at King Abdul Aziz University, under the Department of Nuclear Engineering, students are prepared in the field of nuclear energy technologies, production and use of radioactive isotopes, radiation protection, medical physics engineering. In addition, the University offers training in the areas of energy, nuclear reactor engineering, and medical physics engineering through undergraduate and graduate programs. One department defines its goal of spreading "nuclear engineering culture and Arabizing its sciences". The Nuclear Energy Department focuses on reactor physics and dynamics, heat transfer in nuclear reactors, design of nuclear reactors, measurements of nuclear radiation, radiation protection, radiation applications in industry, and radiation applications in medicine.
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology does not award the degree of an intensive program on nuclear energy. However, the study of nuclear energy is included in some courses related to the Science and Engineering Program materials and the Physical Science and Engineering Section.
At King Faisal University, the Department of Physics was established in the Faculty of Science in 2002. The department does not seem to focus on the study of nuclear physics, but it has a number of modern research instruments.
King Khalid University has announced the opening of the 2015-2016 academic year to teach four different courses related to nuclear programs. One opening for males or females of applicants in the Faculty of Science and included programs in specializations in nuclear physics, solids physics, laser physics, atomic physics, nanoscience, theoretical physics, optical physics, and radiological physics. And in the Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, which includes the specialties of nuclear medicine and radiation. In the science departments of girls' colleges, the physics program includes majors in nuclear radiation physics and nuclear physics.
At King Saud University in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the Faculty of Science, there are seven research groups, according to the PhD program outline of the academic year 2009-2010 and the master's program from the academic year 2010-2011 published on the university's website. These programs include theoretical physics, nuclear physics, biophysics and medicine, material physics, laser physics and spectra, renewable and environmental physics, and astronomy.
A 2015 report by a lecturer at King Saud University, Naif al-Wa'il, published in Riyadh, dealt with the future of a "brighter" and "more secure" energy in Saudi Arabia nuclear. He stressed the Saudi plan to build 16 nuclear power reactors over 20 years worth $ 80 billion. These reactors are expected to produce 20% of electricity in the Kingdom. Other smaller reactors will be used in volume and power to desalinate water. "One of the most important benefits of atomic energy is its contribution to increasing high-level job opportunities, establishing nuclear technical capabilities and preparing Saudi youth to become skilled leaders in the coming years," he wrote. In addition, he wrote that atomic energy will contribute to future industry development, including the development of atomic engineering, advanced research, nuclear reactor technology, in particular, fuel cycle research and development.
Research publications
Research publications provide insight into the nuclear programs of countries such as Saudi Arabia. As a result, the study surveyed a wide range of scientific and engineering publications produced by the academic community and research centers in Saudi Arabia. Research is both quantitative and qualitative in character; topics include everything from detailed information and information on reactor technology and fuel cycle work to best practices in nuclear education and training. Based on a review and review of published literature, Saudi Arabia is developing its nuclear technology and scientific infrastructure and creating a basis for building strong nuclear power capabilities. However, no indications were found that Saudi Arabia was specifically engaged in obtaining fuel cycle facilities beyond nuclear reactors. The Kingdom has studied a range of activities related to the fuel cycle, but these activities did not exceed theoretical studies, except for the possibility of uranium (see also the next section).
Once this knowledge base is built over the next five to ten years, Saudi Arabia will be in a favorable position to decide on fuel cycle capacity building. The former IAEA official, Olli Heinonen, presented a judgment and assessment on Saudi nuclear capability, saying: Saudi Arabia is likely to decide to pursue sensitive fuel cycle technologies as early as five years.
No recent substantive research on uranium enrichment technologies has been found. In addition, any work involving uranium hexafluoride gas, a main feed gas for the gas centrifuge, gas diffusion and certain types of laser enrichment, was investigated. A possible indicator of uranium enrichment is the search for uranium compounds, but this review has not revealed any concrete work on uranium hexafluoride. There is no indication that Saudi Arabia is synthesizing uranium-scale uranium fluorides or re-converting uranium metal alloys to uranium oxides (which can then be used to make uranium hexafluoride). Saudi Arabia conducts a few practical experiments with uranium in general, but is carried out on a small scale with natural uranium.
The Science Network, a published scientific research database, has collected only 167 publications of Saudi research institutions dealing with uranium over the past 15 years.
Iran, for example, produced 390 publications. Of the 167 publications, some 50 were written independently, without cooperation with the institutions of other States. It seems that most cooperation with China. Many locally funded research deals with the extraction of uranium from acidic or aquatic solutions - useful techniques in the various steps of the nuclear fuel front. Studies of uranium (VI) may be useful in future enrichment programs because they are oxidized uranium in uranium hexafluoride.
General research focusing on U-235 fission dates back to the 1980s, such as studies on U-235 fission and fissile yield, or Mo-99 production. But these types of studies are not unusual.
In 2012, the Saudi government circulated a checklist to Saudi researchers on its website "Saudi Organization for Standardization, Metrology and Quality". Inter alia, provide links to further information on the transport of uranium hexafluoride and the reprocessing of spent fuel. Specific uranium compounds are needed for enrichment, so knowing how to produce, deal with and store them will be crucial. Similarly, learning about reprocessing may not refer to a plan to build such facilities, but merely an effort to be aware of such capabilities as the nuclear power reactors being deployed. However, it appears that Saudi Arabia is slowly developing a detailed knowledge of the nuclear fuel cycle.
Publications on the end of the fuel cycle, including plutonium or spent fuel, are available. There are some laboratories at the Atomic Energy Research Institute in Saudi Arabia (AERI) to examine physical and chemical separation, as well as radiochemical chemistry that can be used to separate plutonium, but not in quantities that would pose the risk of proliferation. Published scientific articles such as "Assessing the Global Implications of Plutonium Isotopes and Amersium-241 in the Soil of the Central Region of Saudi Arabia", which give an overview of the scale and sophistication of the procedures.
Research on reactor design, particularly studies on modern fission reactors and light water reactors, is a common practice in Saudi Arabia. The same is true for detailed research using non-fission radioactive isotopes, not fissile material.
Saudi Arabia conducted research on Cm-244, which can be used in hybrid hoods for nuclear reactors and can be used in nuclear explosives (its bare critical mass of about 12 kg). However, Cm-244 is generally not considered a risk of proliferation due to extreme heat and radiation produced, compared with other substances such as plutonium and highly enriched HEU. Although the decay product from Cm-244 is Pu-240, this isotopes (analogues of chemical elements) are also very difficult to use in nuclear explosives.
Reference should also be made to Saudi Arabia's research on heavy-water reactors, such as the CANDU reactors, particularly in conjunction with research on nuclear waste. Studies on heavy water reactors are accompanied by studies on the flow of slow neutrons.
If necessary, research on the rapid neutron flow carried out at the KFUPM rapid neutron activation facility (probably in the context of fast fissionable nuclear reactor coverings) may be applied, if necessary, to the fission that occurs during A nuclear explosion.
Non-technical publications can be indicative of additional administrative and regulatory priorities: Published papers with titles such as research activities on advanced reactors and nuclear R & D planning show Saudi Arabia's interest in advanced research reactors. The research reactors were originally run on highly enriched HEU, before launching a global campaign to make it more resistant to proliferation. Now most of the old reactors and almost all newly built reactors are working on LEU LE with a U-235 portion of approximately 20 percent. An example of Saudi interest in such a reactor is the Russian reactor ABV-6M, which works on about 20 per cent of the enriched uranium.
The publications reviewed refer to a previous interest in understanding nuclear weapons pathways. The risk assessment of alternative deployment methods is a paper written by Shahad Ahmad and Abdo Hosseini in 1982, where the authors analyzed and compared 11 ways to a non-nuclear state that becomes a nuclear-armed state.
A similar paper is the relationship between the nuclear industry and atomic weapons, a study presented at the first Islamic Solidarity Conference in Science and Technology in 1976. It seems that the conference was the first and last of this name, probably because the king was assassinated on the night of the conference.
The name of one of the researchers is often found among publications, Dr. Somer Shahin, born in Turkey and educated in Germany. He has conducted extensive and extensive research, including in Saudi institutes. Research includes nuclear fission and explosive topics, but also topics of new proliferation-resistant reactor technologies. One of the new reactors is the FBNR nuclear reactor. Within the framework of the Turkish-Saudi cooperation, an important study was carried out for the various fuels and studies specially conducted for the FBNR reactor.
http://isis-online.org/uploads/isis...iArabiaProliferationRisks_30Mar2017_Final.pdf
*This is just a part of the report..
Saudi Arabia is strongly committed to the development of nuclear energy. In October 2016, the Saudi cabinet reaffirmed the kingdom's right to a peaceful nuclear energy program.
Saudi Arabia has impressive nuclear targets and has concluded agreements with many international partners. However, progress in building nuclear reactors has been very slow. Saudi scientists have conducted countless feasibility studies dating back to the 1970s related to the development of nuclear power plants, but most of these plans never materialized. However, the Kingdom's goal is to produce nuclear power plants to generate 20 percent of electricity in Saudi Arabia by 2020.
Saudi Arabia appears to be interested in the full fuel cycle. At the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) conference in 2015, the head of R & D and Innovation at King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (KACARE), the national agency at the forefront of the nuclear agenda in Saudi Arabia, In which steps and components are specified for a nuclear power cycle that has "high localization potential". They are determined by a combination of economic gravity and comparative advantage. The list shows that the list is loose from a relative advantage to a relatively comparative advantage: operation and maintenance, valves, mining and milling, engineering, pipes, pumps, radioactive waste, fuel manufacturing, construction, spent fuel, processing and enrichment.
In 2010, King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (K.A.CARE) contracted with Poyry, a global engineering consultancy based in Finland, to formulate a feasibility study for its nuclear program. Through the company's work with KA Abdullah, it is clear that "Saudi Arabia ultimately wants to play a role in many stages of nuclear power generation." In addition, as the feasibility study concluded, the chief energy officer of Poyry UK said the possibility of enrichment and mining in Saudi Arabia, although initially they will rely on their outsourcing needs. The results of this study were not disclosed to the public.
A Saudi government official familiar with Saudi Arabia told the Institute of Science and International Security in 2014 that Saudi Arabia is actively seeking scientific and engineering expertise to lead all aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle.
Despite these ambitious plans, Saudi Arabia has neither power nor research reactors. Its nuclear infrastructure consists of particle accelerator, particle accelerators and rotary cyclutrons. Two test accelerators are used in nuclear physics; the Tandetron 3000 kilo-volt accelerator and a kilo-volt 350-kilowatt light-ion accelerator.
Many nuclear cooperation agreements
In May 2008, the United States and Saudi Arabia signed a memorandum of understanding on civil cooperation in the field of nuclear energy. According to a press release issued by the State Department:
The United States will assist Saudi Arabia in developing civilian nuclear energy for medical, industrial and power generation, and will assist in the development of human resources and infrastructure in accordance with the IAEA's advanced standards and standards. Saudi Arabia has announced its intention to rely on international markets for nuclear fuel and not to pursue sensitive nuclear technologies, which directly interferes with Iran's activities.
The memorandum of understanding did not lead to the demand for nuclear reactors from the United States. Indeed, this memo did not develop into a formal agreement whereby it abandoned the development of domestic fuel cycle capabilities and indicated that Saudi Arabia was seeking to maintain the option of developing such capabilities and possibly include uranium enrichment and reprocessing.
This is bolstered by a US initiative that began before 2014, which sought to sell reactors to Saudi Arabia while ensuring the supply of enriched uranium fuel. Low-enriched uranium will be produced at the US-funded centrifugal gas plant with Saudi funding. In return, the kingdom is committed not to reprocess spent fuel or build a domestic enrichment plant inside Saudi Arabia. The plan was to remove spent fuel to a third country for storage or disposal. Despite initial hopes, this plan has stalled. According to a person familiar with the discussions, among the reasons for changing the leadership in the royal family and the price of oil. He added that Saudi Arabia had given the impression that it was ready to accept non-enrichment or reprocessing, but the joint comprehensive work plan gave them second thoughts, which also indicates that Saudi Arabia keeps options for the fuel cycle open.
The Kingdom has continued its cooperation with many other countries, as it does not require a ban on reprocessing or enrichment as a condition for the supply of reactors. It has conducted a wide range of international nuclear agreements, which could significantly alter the limited nuclear infrastructure in Saudi Arabia.
In 2014, Saudi Arabia announced its plan to build 16 reactors or more over the next 20 years. A study in 2013 suggested three sites: "Jubail on the Arabian Gulf, Rabook and Jizan on the Red Sea," as nuclear reactor sites that would have about 18 gigawatts of power. A study in 2016 suggested ten other sites for nuclear reactors. According to the Saudi engineer magazine, a nuclear power plant will be built along each of the small canals in the vast desert region of the south in order to produce up to 50 gigawatts of electricity. For these plans, Saudi Arabia has sought assistance or signed agreements with a variety of countries, including Russia, France, China, Argentina, Hungary, Finland, Jordan and South Korea. The scope and scale of these agreements is very broad.
The 2015 agreement with Russia appears to provide the largest number of power reactors provided by one country, as well as research reactors and fuel cycle services. At an international forum held in Moscow in 2016, Rosatom confirmed plans to build 16 reactors in Saudi Arabia. The project is scheduled to run into 2030 and cost about $ 100 billion. As the International Nuclear Association stated:
The Treaty of Rosatom in June 2015 stipulated cooperation in the field of nuclear energy, including the design, construction, operation and shutdown of nuclear power and research reactors, including desalination plants and particle accelerators; the provision of nuclear fuel cycle services, including nuclear power plants and research reactors; Radioactive waste management; production and application of radioactive isotopes in industry, medicine and agriculture; and education and training of nuclear energy professionals.
The deal appears to cost Russian company Rosatom the responsibility to "manage spent nuclear fuel," which usually means Saudi Arabia will export its spent fuel to Russia. Because the fuel from the power reactors usually contains a large amount of plutonium, and these exports will limit the ability or at least drive Saudi Arabia to develop a civil reprocessing program. He did not say which type of reactors were specified in the public announcement, but the discussions were supposed to include large nuclear reactors. However, Saudi Arabia has so far shown general interest in smaller Russian reactors, including the Russian ABV 6-M reactor, the LWR. This reactor, with electrical power of 8.5 MW (MWe) requires fuel with higher levels of enrichment. Russian reactor fuel ABV-6M is enriched to approximately 20 percent (specifically 19.7 percent). It must be refueled once every 10 years. Saudi Arabia has also shown interest in the OBKM KLT-40S, a 70 megawatt floating power plant that operates about 20 percent of enriched uranium. Past experiences, such as the transfer of sensitive know-how and technology, may be referred to as proliferation and should be carefully monitored.
Saudi Arabia also signed an agreement with South Korea to build reactors. In 2011, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding. In 2015, the Kingdom contracted the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) to consider the feasibility of establishing two reactors in Saudi Arabia. These advanced reactors are integrated system modules (or SMART reactors) with 330 MW thermal power (MWth), compact water reactors with integrated steam generators, advanced safety features, with a 60-year life cycle, a three-year refueling cycle at a cost of $ 1 billion per who are they. Smart SMART is designed to generate up to 100 megawatts of power generation, as well as desalination of seawater. In June 2016, KEPCO E & C and the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) signed a contract to build a SMART Smart Reactor in Saudi Arabia. According to an article in the Okaz newspaper, the project will continue "30 months until November 2018". Because they use US technology, the Korean company needs a US license to build a nuclear reactor with an advanced integrated system, however, it is likely that this license will be granted. According to a US government official, it will certainly be built.
The SMART reactor uses standard fossil fuel from low-enriched uranium dioxide. No general information can be found indicating whether fuel supply or spent fuel management is part of the agreement. The reactor comes with a fuel storage consumer for 60 years on site, so fuel is likely to remain in Saudi Arabia during its course.
Saudi Arabia has expressed interest in developing the capacity to manufacture small-unit reactors (SMRs), such as SMART. In a presentation at a general conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in 2015, the head of research, development and innovation at the King Abdullah City of Atomic and Renewable Energy (KA.AARE) announced that Saudi Arabia had "a desire for full IP intellectual property for NSSS technology". The NSSS technology is a nuclear steam supply system, which consists of the core of the reactor, spiral-wrapped steam generators, and a built-in compressor compressor in the reactor pressure vessel. This information and other information in the presentation may indicate Saudi Arabia's ambitions to develop the capability to manufacture and possibly export SMR reactors.
In November 2016, Saudi Arabia signed a second memorandum of understanding with South Korea aimed at cooperation on nuclear safety systems. The memorandum of understanding was signed at the headquarters of the National Agency for Nuclear Works in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (K.A.CARE) in Riyadh. "The MoU aims to exchange experiences and practices in the areas of nuclear safety regulation, safeguards, physical protection, radiation prevention and related research, as well as development in a way that serves the atomic energy programs in Saudi Arabia," the statement said. The note was the culmination of five years of discussions.
In 2012, during Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to Saudi Arabia, the two countries signed a nuclear cooperation agreement on "the maintenance and development of nuclear power plants and research reactors, and the manufacture and supply of nuclear fuel components." Four years later, in January 2016, President Xi Jinping and King Salman signed a memorandum of understanding between the two countries signed by King Abdullah City of Atomic and Renewable Energy KA.CARE, Dr. Hashim bin Abdullah Yamani and CNEC President Wang Xu Jin. Under the agreement, China will supply Saudi Arabia with a high temperature reactor (HTR). The project schedule and cost are not known.
The high temperature reactor and gas coolant (HTR) of China has a capacity of 500 MWW, or 211 MW of MWe, a fuel cycle of 1057 days, and a 40-year reactor life. Its fuel contains uranium dioxide, enriched to 8.5 percent of uranium 235 (U-235). The contract is expected to come with fuel supplies for life.
An agreement was signed with France to study the feasibility of building two of the third generation of the European compact evolutionary reactor (EPR). The European Compact Reactor (EPR) is a very powerful reactor capable of producing 1,650 megawatts. It has a life span of 60 years, and the refueling cycle lasts from one to two years. Various types of fuel can be used: low enriched uranium (LEU), mixed oxide (MOX), or reprocessed uranium.
An article in Saudi Engineering magazine discussed discussions with Areva, the French nuclear firm, about cooperation in the training, development and organization of nuclear energy conferences. The Secretary-General of the Saudi Council of Engineers, Dr. Hussein Al-Fadhli, met with the Director of Areva for Business Development in the Middle East Amer Abdul Aziz Al-Rejaib. After the meeting, Fadhli said the coming period would see greater cooperation between the council and a number of public and private authorities.
An agreement with Argentina and the establishment of a joint venture under the name Invania for the development of nuclear technology in Saudi Arabia. Invania was the product of a technology company (Saudi Arabia) and Invap (Argentina), two research and development companies. Argentina could provide a small reactor, such as CAREM's central reactor, for desalination purposes. CAREM is an innovative 25mW innovative water reactor. LEU is fueled by 3.1 percent enriched, and has a fuel cycle of 14 months. Argentina may also provide hot cells for the reactor.
A Finnish agreement signed in 2014 with Saudi Arabia focuses on the creation of infrastructure advisory and safety infrastructure, and in 2015 signed an agreement with Hungary focusing on cooperation in safety and research.
In 2014, an article in Kyodo reported that Saudi Arabia and Japan were "accelerating" talks on cooperation on civilian nuclear energy, including the possibility of Japanese companies exporting reactors to the kingdom. There were no further talks.
Jordan and Saudi Arabia signed an agreement on cooperation in the field of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes in January 2014. The agreement was signed by Dr. Hashem Yamani, President of King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy KA.CARE and Dr. Khaled Touqan, Chairman of the Jordanian Atomic Committee. Under the deal, Saudi Arabia and Jordan will cooperate in various fields of nuclear energy. This includes basic and applied research in nuclear energy science, design, construction and operation of nuclear power plants or research reactors. The agreement also includes cooperation in prospecting, mining / metallurgy and processing of raw materials. Saudi Arabia and Jordan are also scheduled to cooperate in the management of radioactive waste and associated mineral exploitation.
In addition, the Agreement includes cooperation in innovative technologies for new generations of nuclear reactors and their engineering activities, production and application of radioisotopes and radiation techniques, nuclear safeguards, control and verification of nuclear materials, legislation and regulations and nuclear regulatory guidelines. Finally, they will cooperate in the area of safety, nuclear peace, radiation protection, environmental protection and human resources development. Dr. Yamani stressed in a statement to the press the importance of agreeing to achieve mutual benefit from information and experience.
Saudi Arabia has expressed interest in a wide range of reactors. According to KA.CARE, the "target list" of nuclear reactors includes several SMR reactors that operate on LEU, each with a 24-month fuel cycle. The innovative and safe International Reactor (IRIS) is a light, medium-sized LEU reactor. Power output up to 1000 megawatts.
Although the long-term future of nuclear energy in the Kingdom remains largely unclear, the latest agreements with France and South Korea have called for feasibility studies to continue for at least three years, after which the reactor can be built if conditions are favorable . Thus, it is reasonable to expect that Saudi Arabia is on track to build nuclear power reactors.
With all the discussions on obtaining nuclear reactors, which will use large quantities of nuclear material, Saudi Arabia will need to fully implement the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement (CSA). In an article published in the newspaper Al-Hayat in November 2015, it said that "an authorized Saudi authority revealed yesterday that its country has exceeded the limited quantities of enriched uranium to full implementation that supports the Saudi nuclear program ...", referring to statements by Dr. Yamani, Atomic and Renewable Energy. Dr. Yamani said this allowed Saudi Arabia to obtain nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. The Institute for Science and International Security explains this direct translation as evidence that Saudi Arabia is preparing to implement the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement (CSA), but it is not known whether it will also ratify the Additional Protocol, which is of great importance to nuclear non-proliferation.
Academic infrastructure
As of 2016, Saudi Arabia has 38 official universities, of which at least five are awarded the degree of relevant nuclear programs or are studying related nuclear materials: King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Dhahran, King Faisal University Abha, King Khalid University in Abha and King Saud University in Riyadh. The growth of the academic nuclear energy sector in recent years underlines the Saudi ambition to modernize and equip the future generation with "technical nuclear capabilities".
In the Faculty of Engineering at King Abdul Aziz University, under the Department of Nuclear Engineering, students are prepared in the field of nuclear energy technologies, production and use of radioactive isotopes, radiation protection, medical physics engineering. In addition, the University offers training in the areas of energy, nuclear reactor engineering, and medical physics engineering through undergraduate and graduate programs. One department defines its goal of spreading "nuclear engineering culture and Arabizing its sciences". The Nuclear Energy Department focuses on reactor physics and dynamics, heat transfer in nuclear reactors, design of nuclear reactors, measurements of nuclear radiation, radiation protection, radiation applications in industry, and radiation applications in medicine.
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology does not award the degree of an intensive program on nuclear energy. However, the study of nuclear energy is included in some courses related to the Science and Engineering Program materials and the Physical Science and Engineering Section.
At King Faisal University, the Department of Physics was established in the Faculty of Science in 2002. The department does not seem to focus on the study of nuclear physics, but it has a number of modern research instruments.
King Khalid University has announced the opening of the 2015-2016 academic year to teach four different courses related to nuclear programs. One opening for males or females of applicants in the Faculty of Science and included programs in specializations in nuclear physics, solids physics, laser physics, atomic physics, nanoscience, theoretical physics, optical physics, and radiological physics. And in the Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, which includes the specialties of nuclear medicine and radiation. In the science departments of girls' colleges, the physics program includes majors in nuclear radiation physics and nuclear physics.
At King Saud University in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the Faculty of Science, there are seven research groups, according to the PhD program outline of the academic year 2009-2010 and the master's program from the academic year 2010-2011 published on the university's website. These programs include theoretical physics, nuclear physics, biophysics and medicine, material physics, laser physics and spectra, renewable and environmental physics, and astronomy.
A 2015 report by a lecturer at King Saud University, Naif al-Wa'il, published in Riyadh, dealt with the future of a "brighter" and "more secure" energy in Saudi Arabia nuclear. He stressed the Saudi plan to build 16 nuclear power reactors over 20 years worth $ 80 billion. These reactors are expected to produce 20% of electricity in the Kingdom. Other smaller reactors will be used in volume and power to desalinate water. "One of the most important benefits of atomic energy is its contribution to increasing high-level job opportunities, establishing nuclear technical capabilities and preparing Saudi youth to become skilled leaders in the coming years," he wrote. In addition, he wrote that atomic energy will contribute to future industry development, including the development of atomic engineering, advanced research, nuclear reactor technology, in particular, fuel cycle research and development.
Research publications
Research publications provide insight into the nuclear programs of countries such as Saudi Arabia. As a result, the study surveyed a wide range of scientific and engineering publications produced by the academic community and research centers in Saudi Arabia. Research is both quantitative and qualitative in character; topics include everything from detailed information and information on reactor technology and fuel cycle work to best practices in nuclear education and training. Based on a review and review of published literature, Saudi Arabia is developing its nuclear technology and scientific infrastructure and creating a basis for building strong nuclear power capabilities. However, no indications were found that Saudi Arabia was specifically engaged in obtaining fuel cycle facilities beyond nuclear reactors. The Kingdom has studied a range of activities related to the fuel cycle, but these activities did not exceed theoretical studies, except for the possibility of uranium (see also the next section).
Once this knowledge base is built over the next five to ten years, Saudi Arabia will be in a favorable position to decide on fuel cycle capacity building. The former IAEA official, Olli Heinonen, presented a judgment and assessment on Saudi nuclear capability, saying: Saudi Arabia is likely to decide to pursue sensitive fuel cycle technologies as early as five years.
No recent substantive research on uranium enrichment technologies has been found. In addition, any work involving uranium hexafluoride gas, a main feed gas for the gas centrifuge, gas diffusion and certain types of laser enrichment, was investigated. A possible indicator of uranium enrichment is the search for uranium compounds, but this review has not revealed any concrete work on uranium hexafluoride. There is no indication that Saudi Arabia is synthesizing uranium-scale uranium fluorides or re-converting uranium metal alloys to uranium oxides (which can then be used to make uranium hexafluoride). Saudi Arabia conducts a few practical experiments with uranium in general, but is carried out on a small scale with natural uranium.
The Science Network, a published scientific research database, has collected only 167 publications of Saudi research institutions dealing with uranium over the past 15 years.
Iran, for example, produced 390 publications. Of the 167 publications, some 50 were written independently, without cooperation with the institutions of other States. It seems that most cooperation with China. Many locally funded research deals with the extraction of uranium from acidic or aquatic solutions - useful techniques in the various steps of the nuclear fuel front. Studies of uranium (VI) may be useful in future enrichment programs because they are oxidized uranium in uranium hexafluoride.
General research focusing on U-235 fission dates back to the 1980s, such as studies on U-235 fission and fissile yield, or Mo-99 production. But these types of studies are not unusual.
In 2012, the Saudi government circulated a checklist to Saudi researchers on its website "Saudi Organization for Standardization, Metrology and Quality". Inter alia, provide links to further information on the transport of uranium hexafluoride and the reprocessing of spent fuel. Specific uranium compounds are needed for enrichment, so knowing how to produce, deal with and store them will be crucial. Similarly, learning about reprocessing may not refer to a plan to build such facilities, but merely an effort to be aware of such capabilities as the nuclear power reactors being deployed. However, it appears that Saudi Arabia is slowly developing a detailed knowledge of the nuclear fuel cycle.
Publications on the end of the fuel cycle, including plutonium or spent fuel, are available. There are some laboratories at the Atomic Energy Research Institute in Saudi Arabia (AERI) to examine physical and chemical separation, as well as radiochemical chemistry that can be used to separate plutonium, but not in quantities that would pose the risk of proliferation. Published scientific articles such as "Assessing the Global Implications of Plutonium Isotopes and Amersium-241 in the Soil of the Central Region of Saudi Arabia", which give an overview of the scale and sophistication of the procedures.
Research on reactor design, particularly studies on modern fission reactors and light water reactors, is a common practice in Saudi Arabia. The same is true for detailed research using non-fission radioactive isotopes, not fissile material.
Saudi Arabia conducted research on Cm-244, which can be used in hybrid hoods for nuclear reactors and can be used in nuclear explosives (its bare critical mass of about 12 kg). However, Cm-244 is generally not considered a risk of proliferation due to extreme heat and radiation produced, compared with other substances such as plutonium and highly enriched HEU. Although the decay product from Cm-244 is Pu-240, this isotopes (analogues of chemical elements) are also very difficult to use in nuclear explosives.
Reference should also be made to Saudi Arabia's research on heavy-water reactors, such as the CANDU reactors, particularly in conjunction with research on nuclear waste. Studies on heavy water reactors are accompanied by studies on the flow of slow neutrons.
If necessary, research on the rapid neutron flow carried out at the KFUPM rapid neutron activation facility (probably in the context of fast fissionable nuclear reactor coverings) may be applied, if necessary, to the fission that occurs during A nuclear explosion.
Non-technical publications can be indicative of additional administrative and regulatory priorities: Published papers with titles such as research activities on advanced reactors and nuclear R & D planning show Saudi Arabia's interest in advanced research reactors. The research reactors were originally run on highly enriched HEU, before launching a global campaign to make it more resistant to proliferation. Now most of the old reactors and almost all newly built reactors are working on LEU LE with a U-235 portion of approximately 20 percent. An example of Saudi interest in such a reactor is the Russian reactor ABV-6M, which works on about 20 per cent of the enriched uranium.
The publications reviewed refer to a previous interest in understanding nuclear weapons pathways. The risk assessment of alternative deployment methods is a paper written by Shahad Ahmad and Abdo Hosseini in 1982, where the authors analyzed and compared 11 ways to a non-nuclear state that becomes a nuclear-armed state.
A similar paper is the relationship between the nuclear industry and atomic weapons, a study presented at the first Islamic Solidarity Conference in Science and Technology in 1976. It seems that the conference was the first and last of this name, probably because the king was assassinated on the night of the conference.
The name of one of the researchers is often found among publications, Dr. Somer Shahin, born in Turkey and educated in Germany. He has conducted extensive and extensive research, including in Saudi institutes. Research includes nuclear fission and explosive topics, but also topics of new proliferation-resistant reactor technologies. One of the new reactors is the FBNR nuclear reactor. Within the framework of the Turkish-Saudi cooperation, an important study was carried out for the various fuels and studies specially conducted for the FBNR reactor.
http://isis-online.org/uploads/isis...iArabiaProliferationRisks_30Mar2017_Final.pdf
*This is just a part of the report..
