SPECIAL REPORT | GENERAL CONFERENCE
Highlights from Vienna
This year, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) General Conference drew 1600 participants despite Covid restrictions, Judith Perera reports
THIS YEAR, THE IAEA GENERAL Conference, held annually in Vienna, was a little different. The Conference and all associated events were conducted in accordance with the Austrian authorities’ requirements regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and as a result it was a much more sedate affair than usual. The number of delegates allowed in the Plenary Hall at any one time was limited. However, delegates unable to attend in person were able to participate virtually in all official languages. More than 1600 participants attended the event either in-person or virtually, including delegates from 148 of the IAEA’s 173 member states, and from international organisations, non-governmental organisations and the media. There were 79 side events, most of which were held as
Judith Perera
Contributing Editor, Nuclear Engineering International
physical meetings with virtual input. Individual member states organised 36 of the side events. Five other events were sponsored by organisations including the International Nuclear Safety Group, Nuclear Operators, and Senior Safety and Security Regulators. Agency-sponsored side events covered a very wide
range of topics including three meetings related to small modular reactors as well as two discussions on nuclear and renewables, a meeting on the use of digitalisation in decommissioning and one on progress in nuclear hydrogen projects. IAEA experts hosted two virtual events on nuclear and
renewables. One featured a new coordinated research project (CRP) on hybrid energy systems and the other a modelling framework to study the integration of various low-carbon energy options. Haseeb Ur Rehman, a nuclear
engineer at the IAEA, who presented at one of these events, said, “Hybrid energy systems combine continuously changing and intermittent wind, tidal, solar and wave energy sources with base load hydroelectric and nuclear energy sources.” Ed Bradley, IAEA team leader for Nuclear Power Plant
Operation and Engineering Support and co-lead of the CRP said: “A nuclear-renewable hybrid energy system can leverage the benefits of each technology and their mode of operation to provide reliable, sustainable and affordable low-emission electricity. By performing a balancing act through flexible operation, also known as load following, or by adjusting output in terms of delivering heat or hydrogen, nuclear power can enhance the efficiency of renewables, mitigate electricity market volatility and deliver necessary ancillary grid services.” To improve the understanding of the complex
interactions at play in decarbonised electricity systems, the IAEA is developing an integrated power system modelling capability, Framework for the Modelling of Energy Systems (Frames), to quantify the value that nuclear brings to low- carbon systems, like nuclear-renewable hybrid systems. Frames is still under development while being used for internal analyses of integrated energy systems. “This could be a powerful tool, not only to simulate energy systems but to show the synergy of nuclear and renewable technologies, which is particularly valuable for embarking countries in their efforts towards clean and affordable energy,” said Vladimir Artisyuk, adviser to the director general of Rosatom.
Above left: Rafael Mariano Grossi, and Sadiq Marafi , General Conference President and Resident Representative of Kuwait to the IAEA, pose for the traditional end of conference photo Photo credit: Dean Calma/IAEA Above right: Rafael Mariano Grossi delivers his opening remarks at the 2021 IAEA Scientifi c Forum Preparing for Zoonotic Outbreaks: the role of Nuclear Science Photo credit: Dean Calma/IAEA
14 | November 2021 |
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