The German fast breeder program (a historical overview)

Basic and technology programs on German fast breeder reactor (FBR) research were launched by the government and industry in the sixties. At the Karlsruhe Nuclear Research Center (KfK), the 20-MWe sodium-cooled KNK experimental nuclear power station was built by INTERATOM. It was operated successfully until 1991. A German–Belgian–Netherlands consortium was responsible for planning and building the SNR 300, a 300-MWe prototype breeder, in Kalkar. For political reasons, the plant was never commissioned; it was stopped in 1991. In the nineties, Germany together with France and the United Kingdom participated for some time in the development of the European Fast Reactor (EFR).