Review and outlook
Sodium-cooled fast reactors

The commissioning of Superphénix in 1987 was an important step towards the technical mastery of this technology. In the 10 years between commissioning and final shutdown, the Creys-Malville plant was modified following the barrel leak and to take into account the highly unlikely event of a complete sodium pipe rupture. It also underwent several long shutdowns, mainly due to a veritable "legal guerrilla war". But the last year of operation, 1996, was excellent, showing that the concepts were perfectly valid. The EFR project, studied in the wake of Superphénix, concluded that it was possible to design a reactor of this type at a much lower cost, but no further action was taken.