![]() ![]() It also means ensuring your own peer reviews - for example, through WANO - are supported and strengthened. Member states need to work together to ensure the proper mechanisms are in place at the IAEA to support harmonisation and standardisation - and ultimately the safety and security of SMRs around the world.įor industry, at a global level, international oversight means sharing information on deployment and operating experiences widely and openly. Getting there will require international collaboration at a much deeper level than today, with a commitment to meaningful progress and rapid change.įrom an international regulatory perspective, international oversight must come from the International Atomic Energy Agency - or IAEA. However, regulatory harmonisation - and the efficiencies that would flow from it - cannot occur on the 70-plus SMR designs currently being proposed.įor the paradigm shift to be successful, industry and governments will have to strive towards standardised designs, standardised approaches to design requirements, and standardised deployment and operating models.Įven if we make good progress on harmonisation and standardisation, the successful, safe, and widespread deployment of SMRs hinges on strong and appropriate oversight. This includes harmonising codes and standards finding opportunities to coordinate, leverage or adopt technology reviews by other regulators and challenging our licensing processes to ensure they are appropriate for SMRs based on risk.Īnd we must do so in a way that allows for continued national sovereignty in regulatory decision-making. But there are solid steps that regulators around the world can take - and are taking - to move the yardstick in the right direction. We will not achieve international harmonisation of regulations overnight - or maybe ever. And fifth, everything we do must prioritise trust building. Fourth, the political will must be there. Third, all of this must be rooted in effective international oversight involving collaboration previously not witnessed in our sector. Second, efforts need to be made on the international standardisation of designs or design requirements. To me there are five enabling conditions.įirst, there needs to be movement towards the international harmonisation of regulation. This will not be easy, it will take time, and it will require a retooling of the existing international governance of the nuclear industry, and frankly - a willingness to be bold. ![]() And I firmly believe this extends to doing our part to bring about the enabling conditions necessary to support the possibility of a safe and efficient product-based model for SMR deployment. ![]() But we have also been steadfast and vocal that we do not want to be an unnecessary burden or impediment to innovative technologies - such as SMRs. The nuclear sector will require a significant shift from traditional large-scale projects to a streamlined product-based model.Īs a regulator, for us safety will always come first - there is no shift there. SMRs will need to be deployed quicker, less expensively, and much more widespread than reactors of the past. If SMRs are to play a significant role in fighting climate change and addressing energy security - jurisdictions around the world will need to capitalise on their modular potential. But what really differentiates them from traditional reactors is the M for modular. When we think about SMRs, so much of the focus is on the S for small. "Let me begin with this notion of a paradigm shift. Velshi addressing G4SR-4, which took place 3-6 October in Toronto Small modular reactors (SMRs) are likely to be an important part of the next generation in nuclear, but a paradigm shift is needed to enable their safe deployment with the speed and magnitude required, according to Rumina Velshi in this extract from her remarks to the 4th International Conference on Generation IV and Small Reactors (G4SR-4) earlier this month.
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