Energy · 1967

Pebble-bed reactor

Fuel in graphite balls cooled by helium runs at 950 C.

Germany's AVR at Julich, working from 1967, proved the high-temperature gas-cooled pebble-bed concept that Rudolf Schulten championed. Its fuel withstands temperatures that would melt conventional cores.

See it in the living tree Wikipedia

Arcs above join it to what it stood on, arcs below to what it led to. The bar places this stretch on the tree's whole timeline.

What it built on 1

Nuclear reactor 1942

What it led to 1

HTR-PM pebble-bed plant 2023

Related measurements

The dashed line marks when it first worked.

Nuclear electricity generation Latest: 2.81k TWh (2025) Source: Our World in Data