As far as fission is concerned, the so-called evolutionary reactors (also called Generation III) are reactors derived from those currently in operation, designed according to the same principles and capitalising on the experience acquired during several decades from a number of large reactors
They can therefore be put quickly into service; a reactor of this type is currently under construction in Finland and the construction of another is to start in France. This is the EPR (Evolutionary Power Reactor) developed by Areva. Another type of reactor is the AP 1000 (Advanced Passive pressurized water reactor), a Westinghouse concept; several projects are under development in the US.
There are also so-called revolutionary reactors (or Generation IV), which show a major technical advance compared with the current reactors. They are due to go into service in 2035. These reactors use nuclear fuel a lot better (they can therefore consume less fuel or produce less waste), are even safer than the Generation III ones and are easier to modulate (smaller units, which can be decentralised). To ensure their success, the reactors of the future must open up to new markets, through new applications such as the production of hydrogen or the desalination of seawater for large urban agglomerations.
For its part, nuclear fusion is a technique that has already been studied and that scientists consider as potentially promising in the very long term (horizon 2050). After several small-scale experiments, they hope to demonstrate in a pilot reactor that it is possible to produce electrical energy by means of nuclear fusion. Fusion, which presents many advantages both in terms of the level of safety and from the point of view of the impact on the environment, is undoubtedly the means of energy generation of the future and likely to provide the most hopeful prospect of sustainable development. Europe is involved, with several large countries, in the ITER project (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor), which consists in building an experimental reactor of 500 MW(th) at Cadarache in France and to operate it by 2020.
