- ANTARA/Raisan Al Farisi
Jakarta – The National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) is developing small modular reactor technology, which is more practical and can be built evenly across various Indonesian regions.
Rohadi Awaludin, the Head of the Nuclear Energy Research Organization at BRIN stated that the mini reactors are under 300 megawatts in size and are modular in shape, making them quicker to produce and more flexible in installation.
"Because Indonesia is an archipelago, we can install small modular reactors at several points in addition to large power plants," he said in a statement received in Jakarta on Thursday.
Arsip foto - Peneliti memantau layar monitor di ruang kontrol utama reaktor nuklir Triga 2.000 di Badan Riset Inovasi Nasional di Bandung, Jawa Barat, Kamis, 3 Agustus 2023.
- ANTARA/Raisan Al Farisi
Awaludin explained that BRIN has two roles in promoting nuclear technology development. Firstly, BRIN supports and encourages the construction of commercial nuclear power plants by businesses or entities.
"If it's non-commercial, BRIN can do it on its own, obviously along with partners. We gather commercial and non-commercial aspects here. We also encourage universities, such as ITB, to produce new human resources in the nuclear field to be more productive," Awaludin explained.
Awaludin believes that an increasing number of partners from within and outside the country can strengthen research and development of nuclear energy technology in Indonesia.
BRIN is opening up opportunities in launching programs related to nuclear reactors.
Topan Setiadipura, Head of the Nuclear Reactor Technology Research Center at BRIN, added that BRIN is trying to develop small modular reactors with high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGR).
HTGR is one type of fourth-generation reactor that has many advantages over third-generation reactors.
Besides being considered safer, this type of reactor also produces heat that can be used in industries such as hydrogen gas production.
"In our discussions, we agreed that we will soon test a light water reactor. However, we will still proceed to test HTGR in the next stage," Setiadipura stated.
Currently, nuclear energy is a priority for renewable energy in Indonesia. The government has targeted net-zero emissions by 2060, and nuclear energy is one of the main drivers of the energy source.
