Indonesia with its vast archipelago has been experiencing high growth in energy demand. The increase is commensurate with the rate of increase in economic development and in population growth, and with rapid developments in the industrial sector. To satisfy the energy demand, the Optimum Energy Mix approach has been taken, in which the selection of alternatives sources involve the considerations of energy diversification, safety, social, economic, public health, and environment. Through the approach, the target of 2030 will be reached i.e.; the compositions of energy mix will be 30.5% coal, 30.4% gas, 25.6% oil and 14% will be supplied by renewable and new energy sources including nuclear. Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) have been considered as a potential options to provide energy supply for small islands outside Java.
Based on the World Health Organization (WHO), cancer is the second leading of fatal cause after cardiovascular disease. To help Indonesia in tackling the issue from nuclear sector, the Center of Science and Technology Accelerator of the National Nuclear Energy Agency (BATAN) is conducting R&D on particle acceleration and utilizing the Kartini Research Reactor (KRR) that is based on TRIGA Mark II Research Reactor located on the outskirts of the Yogyakarta Province. At the KRR, the facility for Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) is going to be installed. The BNCT is a non-invasive therapeutic modality for treating locally invasive malignant tumors such as primary brain tumors and recurrent head and neck cancer with the non-radioactive isotope boron-10. The BNCT can be performed at a facility with a nuclear reactor or at hospitals that have developed alternative neutron sources, such as the KRR. Four of six beam ports at KRR will be equipped with a collimator, a device capable of narrowing the neutron beam. After decades of development, BNCT has reached clinical-trial stages in several countries, mainly for treating challenging cancers such as malignant brain tumors.
In agriculture sector, Indonesia is the world’s largest producer of palm oil as well as a leading global producer of other high value commodities such as cocoa, rubber and coffee. The country is rich in fertile land ideal for growing a diverse range of crops for both export and domestic consumption. BATAN in cooperation with the IAEA has been developing drought tolerant sorghum for food, animal feed and the bioethanol industry. Water scarcity is a problem in the drought prone areas of the hilly district of Gunung Kidul and in the sandy soil of the coastal Bantul district of Yogyakarta Province in Indonesia. Nuclear technology is being used to increase the genetic variability sorghum, by inducing mutations with gamma irradiation.
The industrial sector in Indonesia is the sector that currently contributes most to Indonesia’s annual GDP growth. The two most important sub-sectors of industry are mining and manufacturing, both being major pillars of the nation's economy since the 1970s, thus being engines of economic change and development. BATAN is conducting a pre-project engineering to build a small size experimental high temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) to be in operation in 2021 – 2022. HTGR has been acknowledged as a reliable and very safe nuclear technology to generate high heat for industrial processes.
In environment sector, Indonesia has greatly under-reported on how much the primary rainforest has been illegally logged and the high level of pollutions generated by transportations, industries, and power plants. Nuclear power belongs to the set of energy sources and technologies available today that could help meet the climate-energy challenge. Greenhouse gases (GHGs), especially of carbon dioxide (CO2) from nuclear power plants are negligible. In this regards, in developed countries SMRs have also been considered as a potential option to replace the retiring coal power plants.
This International Symposium invites decision makers from relevant international organizations, experts on energy, economy and environment, business sectors, professors/academia, and researchers to present their scientific papers on the fields of: Energy, Health, Agriculture, Industry, and Environment.