The perspectives of MYRRHA in contributing to solve the energy crisis

The interest for nuclear energy as part of the energy mix to achieve the energy transition towards CO 2 neutral society by 2050 is regularly mentioned in the IPCC, IAEA and IEA reports. As nuclear energy has nearly no greenhouse gas emissions it can contribute to climate change mitigation objectives. Average lifecycle GHG emissions for electricity production from nuclear energy (6-10 g CO 2 eq]/kWh) are comparable to the values of hydropower and windmills. It's about 20 times less than natural gas and 30 to 40 times less than coal. Therefore, nuclear can be a complementary effective way to renewables to tackle climate change. End 2022, 443 nuclear reactors are in operation in 32 countries and 52 are under construction. Nuclear electricity represents 10% worldwide and more than 25% for EU. Relying on nuclear remains controversial in many countries because of its hazardous nature and sustainability. Especially as regards the back end of the fuel cycle and the management of the spent fuel. Studies have highlighted the advantages of spent fuel reprocessing and recycling strategies versus a once trough fuel cycle scenario. Open cycle require more natural uranium, have a stronger environmental footprint and generate bigger high-level waste (HLW) volumes. There is today a broad scientific and technical consensus that disposal of HLW in deep geologic formations can be considered as an appropriate safe means of isolating it from the biosphere for very long times. Closing the fuel cycle improves drastically the performance of nuclear energy in terms of better use of resources, reducing the burden of the nuclear waste and combining this with the SMR's and ADS We will cover in this talk how the demonstration of closing the fuel cycle can be prepared for industrialization by 2050.