On August 10-11, 2022, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC’s) International Regulatory Development Partnership (IRDP) supported a 2-day virtual event for Ukraine. The event was sponsored by the U.S. Department of State under the Foundational Infrastructure for Responsible Use of Small Modular Reactor Technology (FIRST) program in collaboration with the NRC and other U.S. agencies. The FIRST program is supporting Ukraine as they explore small modular reactor (SMR) technology selection considerations. Ukrainian agencies participating included the Ministry of Energy -Department of Nuclear Energy and Atomic Industry, State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine, State Scientific and Technical Center for Nuclear and Radiation Safety, Institute for Nuclear Research, Kyiv Research and Design Institute, State Agency of Ukraine on Exclusion Zone Management, Energoatom, Ministry of Science and Education of Ukraine, and the National Science Center Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology.
The two separate four-hour webinars covered the fundamental considerations specific to SMR technology selection. The day-one session featured two presentations for a technology selection methodology to assess various SMR technologies and a presentation by Ukraine on “Site and Technology Selection Issues for SMR in Ukraine.” The day-two session started with Mr. Brett Rini of the NRC giving an introduction, then Mr. Mark Tonacci and Mr. Stewart Magruder of AdSTM, Inc., presented the “Overview of SMR Licensing Process.” The presentation covered the NRC reactor licensing process as well as insights from the NRC experience with reviewing SMR technology. This was followed by a practical exercise using the technology selection methodology described on day-one. Participants applied the methodology to five sample SMRs with varying designs, and they developed ranking and weightings that could be used for technology selection appropriate for Ukraine.