Editing Pebble bed modular reactor (section)

== PBMR (Pty) Ltd – history ==
Since its establishment in 1994, Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (Pty) Ltd grew into one of the largest nuclear reactor design teams in the world.<ref name=niasa>{{cite news|url=http://www.niasa.co.za/events/event-presentations/HTR%20Conference%20Supplement.pdf|title=Special report published by Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (Pty) Ltd of South Africa on the High Temperature Reactor Conference (HTR) that was held from 28 September to 1 October 2008 in Washington D.C. |author=PBMR |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090901165406/http://www.niasa.co.za/events/event-presentations/HTR%20Conference%20Supplement.pdf|archivedate=1 September 2009}}</ref> In addition to the core team of some 700 people at the PBMR head-office in Centurion near Pretoria, more than 600 people at universities, private companies and research institutes were involved with the project.<ref name=nei-20170402/>

In 2006, the US Department of Energy awarded the PBMR consortium the primary contract for the first phase of its New Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) project.{{Citation needed|date=February 2009}}  The scope for the first phase of this contract, which has now been completed{{Citation needed|date=February 2009}}, was for the pre-conceptual engineering of a nuclear co-generation plant for the production of electricity and hydrogen. Requests for proposals for the second phase of the NGNP project will soon be issued, to which the PBMR consortium will be responding within the next few months of 2009.

In 2009 PBMR (Pty) announced that it was looking at employing the technology for process heat applications,<ref name=nei-20090401a/> and some pebble bed reactor contracts had been put on hold to prevent unnecessary spending<ref name=nei-20090401b>{{cite news|url=http://www.neimagazine.com/story.asp?storyCode=2052595|title=PBMR (Pty)'s Perspective|author=PBMR|publisher=Nuclear Engineering International|date=1 April 2009|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613104928/http://www.neimagazine.com/story.asp?storyCode=2052595|archivedate=13 June 2011}}</ref>

=== Wind down in 2010 ===
In February 2010 the South Africa government announced it had stopped funding the development of the pebble bed modular reactor, and PBMR (Pty) stated it was considering 75% cuts in staff.<ref name=WNN-20100218>{{cite news|url=http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/C_PBMR_facing_massive_cuts_1802101.html|title=PBMR facing massive cuts|date=18 February 2010|publisher=World Nuclear News|accessdate=2010-03-16}}</ref> The decision was taken because no customer or investor for PBMR was found. Unresolved technical items, a substantial increase of costs and a 2008 report from [[Forschungszentrum Jülich]] about major problems in operation of the [[AVR reactor|German pebble bed reactor AVR]]<ref name=Moormann-2008>{{cite web |url=http://juwel.fz-juelich.de:8080/dspace/bitstream/2128/3136/1/Juel_4275_Moormann.pdf |title=A safety re-evaluation of the AVR pebble bed reactor operation and its consequences for future HTR concepts (archived copy) |accessdate=2015-06-15 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111154905/http://juwel.fz-juelich.de:8080/dspace/bitstream/2128/3136/1/Juel_4275_Moormann.pdf |archivedate=11 January 2012 }}</ref> had discouraged potential investors.<ref name="Hogan"/> International banks refused to support the PBMR project by loans. PBMR's CEO resigned on March, 8th 2010.

In May 2010 Westinghouse withdrew from the PBMR consortium, which led to an end of the South African engagement in NGNP.<ref name="Hogan"/>

On 25 May 2010 the company announced to staff that it intends to implement a "Care and Maintenance" Strategy. This involves the reduction of staff to 9. The stated purpose of the proposed structure is; preserve PBMR as a legal entity, preserve and optimise IP, preserve HTR license, preserve assets and solicit new investors. The strategy assumes that keeping on 9 employees in the medium term will leave sufficient funding to take PBMR to March 2013. The remaining employees will serve to end of October 2010. Some funding is foreseen for dismantling of the PBMR fuel fabrication laboratories in 2011.

In Sept 2010 the SA govt announced that in future, the [[South African nuclear program]] will concentrate on conventional [[light water reactor]]s.<ref name = "Hogan">{{cite web |url=http://www.info.gov.za/speech/DynamicAction?pageid=461&sid=13029&tid=18561 |title=Address by the Minister of Public Enterprises, Barbara Hogan, to the National Assembly, on the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor |author=Barbara Hogan |publisher=South African Government Information |date=16 September 2010 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921060457/http://www.info.gov.za/speech/DynamicAction?pageid=461&sid=13029&tid=18561 |archivedate=21 September 2013}}</ref>

The NGNP project will continue on HTGRs with prismatic fuel elements, not with pebbles as in PBMR, as was announced in February 2012.

[[South African rand|R]]9.244 billion (US$1.3 billion) had been invested in the PBMR project. Over 80% came from the South African government, with smaller amounts from [[Eskom]] (8.8%), [[Westinghouse Electric Company|Westinghouse]] (4.9%), Industrial Development Corporation (4.9%) and [[Exelon]] (1.1%).<ref name=nei-20170402>{{cite news |url=http://www.neimagazine.com/news/newssecond-thoughts-on-south-africas-pebble-bed-reactor-5776340 |title=Second thoughts on South Africa's pebble-bed reactor |publisher=Nuclear Engineering International |date=2 April 2017 |accessdate=6 April 2017}}</ref>