TRAINING & RECRUITMENT | NEW TECHNOLOGY
New technology, new training
New nuclear technologies place new training requirements on the industry
but as SMRs, Advanced Reactors and fusion emerge onto the stage, behind the scenes new training tools are also coming into play.
The UKAEA-Eni H3AT Tritium Loop Facility at Culham is a tritium research facility that gives industry and academia the chance to study how to process, store and recycle tritium. Source: Culham Campus
THE IMPENDING EMERGENCE of new nuclear technologies like Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), Advanced Reactors and even fusion power is prompting a wave of developments that will enable a stream of new operators, designers and even policymakers and regulators to emerge to meet the various challenges these new technologies will bring. Despite the still nascent nature of operating reactors, the development of training solutions for these new technologies is already gathering pace with a swathe of announcements over recent months. Earlier in 2026, for instance, the Łukasiewicz Research Network and ORLEN Synthos Green Energy launched a collaboration to establish and jointly operate a nuclear energy training centre for the construction of SMRs in Poland. Set to be located at the Łukasiewicz–Electrotechnical Institute in Warsaw’s Wawer district, the training centre will support the development of personnel to safely operate a fleet of GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy BWRX-300 reactors, which OSGE plans to build. As well as a training centre and an SMR reactor simulator, the facility will also serve as a hub for information, training, and educational programmes for the European market. The cooperation will include constructing and equipping the training centre for which the Łukasiewicz Research Network will provide specialised scientific and technical personnel. “We see this partnership as a real opportunity to train
specialists, validate and certify technologies in line with international safety standards, and create innovations that will strengthen the Polish economy. Together, we aim to develop a sustainable ecosystem of competencies
36 | March 2026 |
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that will facilitate the effective and responsible execution of our nuclear programme and promote the country’s energy transition,” said Bartosz Fijałkowski, Vice President of ORLEN Synthos Green Energy, commenting on the deal in a statement. This training agreement followed on from a similar deal between ABB and SimGenics who plan to collaborate on simulator-based training for the nuclear sector in North America. A recent Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two companies will support the development and provision of engineering, training and distributed control system (DCS) simulators for the nuclear energy industry, primarily in North America with a particular focus on greenfield developments including complete plant process model and simulation across SMR and advanced reactor facilities, as well as conventional large nuclear power plants. The simulators can also be used onsite at operational nuclear power plants as engineering and training systems. ABB will supply automation, electrification and digitalisation solutions to non-critical areas of nuclear facilities, as well as long-term service support, while SimGenics will provide engineering, training and DCS check-out simulators to develop dynamic process models that mimic the behaviour of various types of nuclear power plants. An ABB simulator can then integrate these process models within control system infrastructures, to create a realistic simulator. As Per Erik Holsten, President of ABB’s Energy Industries division, noted: “Comprehensive simulation and training capabilities will be crucial to enable capacity growth in nuclear power as part of the future energy ecosystem.” The collaboration comes as both US and Canadian
governments are implementing policy frameworks to stimulate the deployment of nuclear energy. In Canada, for example, the government has created the Canada SMR Action Plan to drive development, demonstration and deployment of SMRs while GE Vernova Hitachi’s first BWRX-300 is already under construction at Ontario Power Generation’s Darlington site in Canada, with completion expected by the end of the decade.
Beyond Europe and North America and in regions where
nuclear power is still an emerging force, training is also ramping up, building the knowledge and experience that policymakers and regulators will need to engage with SMR technologies as they hit the market. Africa, for example, is working to build training and skills in reference to the potential for SMR development in the continent through an initiative from the International Atomic Energy Authority (IAEA). Launched last year to inform governments, regulators and industry players about SMRs and their potential role in the energy mix, the programme serves to allow senior figures
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