NUWARD SMR Joint Early Review : Pilot Phase Closure Report
Autorité de Sûreté Nucléaire Säteilyturvakeskus Státní úřad pro jadernou bezpečnost
26.09.2023
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Tiivistelmä
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In a context where regulators are anticipating an influx of Small Modular Reactors (SMR) projects, international collaboration is seen as an opportunity for increasing effectiveness and efficiency in licensing activities. However, although several initiatives have been launched to explore ways of cooperating effectively, the experience regarding multilateral review of a similar reactor design is limited.
From June 2022 to June 2023, three regulators ASN (France), STUK (Finland) and SÚJB (Czech Republic) and their technical support organization (IRSN for France and SÚRO for Czech Republic) have conducted a joint early review (JER) of the light water SMR developed by EDF, the NUWARD SMR, since energy companies from these three countries have expressed interest for the construction of such a reactor in the future.
Based on technical documents elaborated by EDF to be submitted within the framework of the French pre-licensing process, and enriched with technical meetings, this unprecedented review focused on six topics which present particular importance for the safety or for the design. The main objectives of this multilateral review were to identify key issues towards the hypothetical licensing of a NUWARD SMR in the involved countries, and to identify divergences and convergences between the regulatory frameworks in these countries. For each of these topics, feedback was addressed to the vendor (EDF) through dedicated synthesis, highlighting common and individual conclusions from the regulators involved.
The Joint Early Review was not intended to replace any future licensing review of one of the participating regulator. The results of the review achieved by individual regulators are informative and non-binding for any potential future licensing activities and evaluations.
The regulators involved in this initiative consider that this form of collaboration can provide particular benefits to all participating parties. Indeed, for the regulators, this initiative provided room for sharing of knowledge, experience and detailed national practices on topics which present high stakes for the safety and which are crucial in the licensing process. It also enabled regulators to acquaint with a SMR design, and thus to anticipate main regulatory and technical challenges. For the vendor, it enabled to receive timely feedback from the regulators on topics of the highest importance for its design, when modifications are still relatively easy to be made with the objective to develop a standardized design with a level of safety consistent with regulators’ expectations, and thus more likely to be accepted by several countries in the future. This exercise also showed that differences in regulatory frameworks don’t always need to be addressed through design changes.
This kind of cooperation appears to be effective and efficient way to move towards an increased standardization of reactor designs, and also facilitates harmonization of regulatory requirements, regulators’ expectations and practices on a voluntary basis, which preserves national sovereignty and independence. Acknowledging that both regulatory and design changes can take time to be implemented, conducting this kind of review early enough is key for time and resource saving in future eventual regulatory assessments or development of a nuclear reactor. In this sense, further continuation and intensification of this initiative, following this pilot phase, could provide complementary benefits and additional savings.
This report presents the initiative and the lessons learned from the involved regulators and their technical support organization point of views.
Another document, which presents the lessons learned and the benefits from the vendor’s point of view will also be published simultaneously by NUWARD.
In a context where regulators are anticipating an influx of Small Modular Reactors (SMR) projects, international collaboration is seen as an opportunity for increasing effectiveness and efficiency in licensing activities. However, although several initiatives have been launched to explore ways of cooperating effectively, the experience regarding multilateral review of a similar reactor design is limited.
From June 2022 to June 2023, three regulators ASN (France), STUK (Finland) and SÚJB (Czech Republic) and their technical support organization (IRSN for France and SÚRO for Czech Republic) have conducted a joint early review (JER) of the light water SMR developed by EDF, the NUWARD SMR, since energy companies from these three countries have expressed interest for the construction of such a reactor in the future.
Based on technical documents elaborated by EDF to be submitted within the framework of the French pre-licensing process, and enriched with technical meetings, this unprecedented review focused on six topics which present particular importance for the safety or for the design. The main objectives of this multilateral review were to identify key issues towards the hypothetical licensing of a NUWARD SMR in the involved countries, and to identify divergences and convergences between the regulatory frameworks in these countries. For each of these topics, feedback was addressed to the vendor (EDF) through dedicated synthesis, highlighting common and individual conclusions from the regulators involved.
The Joint Early Review was not intended to replace any future licensing review of one of the participating regulator. The results of the review achieved by individual regulators are informative and non-binding for any potential future licensing activities and evaluations.
The regulators involved in this initiative consider that this form of collaboration can provide particular benefits to all participating parties. Indeed, for the regulators, this initiative provided room for sharing of knowledge, experience and detailed national practices on topics which present high stakes for the safety and which are crucial in the licensing process. It also enabled regulators to acquaint with a SMR design, and thus to anticipate main regulatory and technical challenges. For the vendor, it enabled to receive timely feedback from the regulators on topics of the highest importance for its design, when modifications are still relatively easy to be made with the objective to develop a standardized design with a level of safety consistent with regulators’ expectations, and thus more likely to be accepted by several countries in the future. This exercise also showed that differences in regulatory frameworks don’t always need to be addressed through design changes.
This kind of cooperation appears to be effective and efficient way to move towards an increased standardization of reactor designs, and also facilitates harmonization of regulatory requirements, regulators’ expectations and practices on a voluntary basis, which preserves national sovereignty and independence. Acknowledging that both regulatory and design changes can take time to be implemented, conducting this kind of review early enough is key for time and resource saving in future eventual regulatory assessments or development of a nuclear reactor. In this sense, further continuation and intensification of this initiative, following this pilot phase, could provide complementary benefits and additional savings.
This report presents the initiative and the lessons learned from the involved regulators and their technical support organization point of views.
Another document, which presents the lessons learned and the benefits from the vendor’s point of view will also be published simultaneously by NUWARD.