The United States Department of Energy's Nuclear Energy Research Advisory Committee (NERAC) and the Generation IV International Forum (GIF) have issued "A Technology Roadmap for the Generation IV Nuclear Energy Systems" (4.4 MB PDF).

"Generation IV" nuclear energy systems are an ensemble of nuclear reactor technologies that could be deployed by 2030 and present significant improvements in economics, safety and reliability and sustainability over currently operating reactor technologies. Although existing designs, which are denoted as Generation II and III, provide a reliable, economical and publicly acceptable supply of electricity in many markets, further advances in nuclear energy system design can broaden the opportunities for the use of nuclear energy.

The technology roadmap describes the required system research and development (R&D) necessary to develop each of the six selected Generation IV systems and the approximate time to completion. In addition to concept-specific R&D, the roadmap recognizes that certain R&D tasks may support the advancement of multiple systems. Therefore, crosscutting R&D in the areas of fuel cycle, fuels and materials, energy products, risk and safety, economics, and proliferation resistance and physical protection are also defined in the roadmap. The technology roadmap and its supporting documents (Table of Contents) are available through this web site.