Government policy and technical choice in the West German reactor programme

This paper gives a concise historical account of government policy in the development of nuclear power reactors in West Germany. In addition to published sources, information is drawn from the minutes of government advisory bodies and from interviews with individuals involved in policymaking. It is found that the decentralization of decision-making was a key factor in the relative success of the West German reactor programme. Government support was given in a way that left the essential technical and commercial decisions with manufacturers and utilities. The development work for the eventual successful light-water reactor was a largely self-financed effort of firms commanding a strong technical and commercial tradition in power plant construction. The utilities based their decisions on the basis of internationally available technology independent of, and initially even against, the programmes devised by the government. In the period up to the year 1972, less than ten percent of government expenditure for reactor development was spent on types that are now in commercial use, i.e. on light-water reactors, while the bulk was given to reactor types that have a chance for commercial application only in the longer term, such as the high-temperature gas-cooled reactor and the fast breeder reactor.