NEW TECHNOLOGY | TRAINING & RECRUITMENT
A recent agreement will see a nuclear energy training centre for the construction of SMRs located at the Łukasiewicz– Electrotechnical Institute in Warsaw, Poland. Source: Łukasiewicz– Electrotechnical Institute
to familiarise themselves with the technology and the issues associated with its use. Dohee Hahn, IAEA SMR Platform Coordinator, explains: “The new IAEA SMR School aims to fill a critical gap for countries in better understanding the array of issues involved in the development and deployment of this promising new technology.” The first SMR workshop was hosted by the government
of Kenya and took place in Nairobi. With a focus on African countries, the participants included officials, policy makers and managers of organisations implementing nuclear programmes in Kenya, Ghana, Niger, Nigeria, Uganda and Zambia. The sessions covered key aspects of SMRs, including technology development and demonstration, legal frameworks, stakeholder engagement, and safety, security and safeguards. “Kenya recognises the critical role of SMRs in bridging gaps
in clean and affordable energy access, supporting industrial growth, and complementing our renewable ambitions. This school serves as a catalyst, equipping our technical teams, regulators, and future leaders with the expertise required to navigate the complexities of nuclear technology deployment responsibly and efficiently,” said Serah Esendi, Acting CEO of the Nuclear Power and Energy Agency (NuPEA) of Kenya. In Africa, nuclear power is already expanding with Egypt building its first plant and South Africa planning to expand capacity but many more African countries are exploring the potential role of SMRs in their energy mix. Future SMR Schools are also planned for Asia and Latin
America. Thailand will host a school in July with participants from Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Estonia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mongolia, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and Uzbekistan. The Latin America session will take place in August with participants from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Jamaica, Paraguay and Peru. While SMRs are clearly a near-term prospect with units
already under construction and with multiple designs deep in the process of regulatory approval, fusion is also coming under scrutiny in terms of development of training and simulation services. For examole, Bilfinger has been appointed by the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) to create a virtual control room and digital simulator for a tritium fuel cycle facility at the Culham Campus in Oxfordshire. Tritium recovery and re-use will play a key role in the supply of fusion fuel and will be crucial in making the technology increasingly efficient.
The UKAEA-Eni H3AT Tritium Loop Facility is a tritium research centre that gives industry and academia the chance to study how to process, store and recycle tritium. The platform will allow future engineers to train for a range of situations that wouldn’t be possible in the real world, which in turn provides UKAEA with the ability to build a digital library of training scenarios. The system also allows UKAEA to simulate potential changes to the plant’s operating parameters and any possible knock-on effects, allowing it to optimise processes. Furthermore, it will be used to showcase the potential of fusion to other stakeholders. Stephen Wheeler, Executive Director for Fusion Technology
and Tritium Fuel Cycle, at UKAEA, said: “By creating this digital control room with the support of Bilfinger, we’re increasing technical capability and supporting industry to deliver the mechanisms that will serve fusion in the future. The development provides an unprecedented opportunity to train the next generation of fusion engineers through cutting- edge virtual simulation technology. In a related development, the UKAEA and the
Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) have also launched a new fusion apprenticeships programme, expanding their nuclear training offer at the Oxfordshire Advanced Skills (OAS) Training Centre at Culham. The new apprenticeships are designed to reflect the realities of the fusion workplace with apprentices benefitting from hands-on experience. The initiative is supported by UKAEA’s Fusion Opportunities in Skills, Training, Education & Research (FOSTER) programme, which is part of the UK government’s Fusion Futures investment scheme to develop a strong, sustainable skills pipeline for the UK. Commenting Chris Rooum, Business Development Director at MTC Training, said: “As the country undergoes a nuclear renaissance and starts to introduce a new generation of nuclear power technologies, demand for skilled professionals in this sector is expected to rise even further. By collaborating with UKAEA to design and offer these apprenticeships, we can provide the industry with a future workforce to support the clean energy transition.” It is clear that virtual engineering and training simulators
serve as environments where solutions and scenarios can be tested and refined in a safe way. That will ultimately enable the nuclear workforce and those in adjacent fields to develop the necessary skillsets to reduce risk, prevent failures and unplanned shutdowns, and identify potential operational issues early on, even as new nuclear technology emerges. ■
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