SMRs | REACTOR DESIGN The IAEA is undertaking important activities on the safety
and security of SMRs. For example, we have recently completed the review of applicability of the safety standards to SMRs and other technologies. We have also developed a programme
of work to progressively adjust the safety standards so that they better capture the specificities of these new technologies. The Platform portal will enable us to better disseminate this work to member states
Meanwhile, Small Modular Reactors: A New Nuclear
Energy Paradigm “addresses the needs of policy makers and relevant stakeholders, covering not only SMR technology and applications but the entire full cycle, including infrastructure and economics,” said Monti. “The activities pertaining to the safety and security of
SMRs are a priority for the Agency,” said Anna Bradford, Director of the IAEA Division of Nuclear Installation Safety. “Particularly, our focus is to ensure that the important innovations introduced by SMRs are fully considered and consistent with current safety, security and regulatory approaches. These activities are well coordinated with all other important aspects of the work of the Agency considered as part of the SMR platform.” The IAEA expects to publish a Safety Report on the applicability of IAEA safety standards to SMR technologies by the end of 2022.
SMR web portal Earlier this year the SMR Platform introduced a new web portal, which covers technology development and deployment (including non-electric applications), nuclear safety, security and safeguards as well as fuel, the fuel cycle and waste management. The portal will be expanded to incorporate additional features such as areas for technical working groups, information on national and international SMR projects and programmes. “The portal is designed to serve as a centralised source of information for both external and internal IAEA stakeholders, with different levels of information and data access,” said Monti. “The IAEA is undertaking important activities on
the safety and security of SMRs. For example, we have recently completed the review of applicability of the safety standards to SMRs and other technologies,” said Paula Calle Vives, Senior Nuclear Safety Officer at the IAEA coordinating SMR safety activities. “We have also developed a programme of work to progressively adjust the safety standards so that they better capture the specificities of these new technologies. The Platform portal will enable us to better disseminate this work to member states.” Some countries are already receiving assistance
through the SMR Platform and several cross-cutting task forces have been established to address their needs. One of these is helping to organise an expert mission to Jordan to analyse the economics of using SMRs for electricity generation and water desalination. The IAEA is also supporting Brazil in analysing SMR technologies and market readiness, regulatory issues, and requirements for SMR siting.
“Amid the energy and climate crises, more and more
countries are looking at SMRs as an option to improve energy security and reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” Monti said. “The IAEA can help them on this journey, which can begin with a visit to the new portal of the IAEA SMR Platform and then, if desired, by lodging a formal request for Agency assistance.”
Nuclear harmonisation and standardisation SMRs also feature in the IAEA’s new Nuclear Harmonisation and Standardisation Initiative (NHSI), which held its kick off meeting in June 2022. NHSI is helping to facilitate the deployment of safe and secure SMRs by bringing together policymakers, regulators, designers, vendors and operators to develop common regulatory and industrial approaches to SMRs. The many SMR designs under development worldwide, including innovative reactors that are yet to be licensed and novel methods of modular manufacturing that are new to the nuclear industry, means that deployment of SMRs in time to address climate change is a difficult and complex task. The plans to establish NHSI were announced earlier in
2022 by IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi, who said IAEA aims to facilitate the safe and secure deployment of SMRs and other advanced nuclear technologies to maximise their contribution to achieving the goals of Agenda 2030 and the Paris Agreement, including reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050. “SMRs and other advanced nuclear technologies hold immense promise to help address the climate crisis,” ne noted. “But if countries are to fully benefit from their potential to significantly reduce emissions and provide reliable energy, then some challenges to global deployment must be addressed. That’s what this new initiative is all about.” The cost advantage of SMRs in part arise from an
understanding that prefabricated modules could be produced in factories and assembled on site. However, for this to work across borders, common industrial standards, codes and licensing requirements are needed, so that the same safety standards could apply regardless of the country of installation. A degree of harmony among different national nuclear regulatory approaches will also be necessary. “On the regulatory side, the aim is to increase
regulatory collaboration, to establish common positions on technical and policy issues, to pave the way to greater harmonisation, initially in the pre-licensing phase for SMRs, with an agreed expectation of high levels of safety and security for these advanced designs,” said Lydie Evrard, IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Nuclear Safety and Security. U
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