International Conference on Small Modular Reactors and their Applications - Abstract and Paper Submissions

Themes and Topics

The IAEA welcomes high-quality contributions in accordance with the following topical groups and tracks:

Topical Group A: SMR Design, Technology and Fuel Cycle

This topical group will focus on research and development of SMR designs from major technology lines: water-cooled reactors, gas-cooled reactors, molten-salt reactors, liquid metal-cooled reactors, and microreactors for both electricity generation and non-electric applications. Advanced fuel designs and anticipated challenges of the nuclear fuel cycle including High Assay Low Enriched Uranium (HALEU) and high burnup fuels will be addressed. Discussion will also cover engineering, codes and standards, supply chain, operation and maintenance and decommissioning of SMRs, waste generation and management, including transport of SMR spent fuel and waste.

• Track 1: Design and Technology Development of SMRs (A.1)
  Research and development (R&D) for SMR designs of major technology lines; Concepts of modularity, design simplification and integration; Reactor physics and thermal hydraulics analyses and simulation, and experimental activities for design validation.
   
• Track 2: Advanced fuels, reprocessing, waste management and decommissioning aspects for SMRs – Safety, Design and Technology (A.2)
  Research and development (R&D) in advanced fuel designs and technologies; fuel cycle options for SMRs; use of HALEU and higher burnups fuels; SMR designs for decommissioning; Decommissioning of non-water cooled SMRs; Waste generation and management, including transport of SMR spent fuel and waste.
   
• Track 3: Engineering, Codes & Standards, Supply Chain, Operation and Maintenance of SMRs (A.3)
  Issues and challenges in the engineering of SMR designs; Applicability of the current codes and standards; Harmonization initiatives in C&Ss and their oversight; Procurement engineering and supply chain readiness in support of SMR deployment; Approach and preparation of operation for SMRs; simulators; construction technology, Human factor engineering for SMRs.
   
• Track 4: Transportable SMRs (A.4)
  Microreactors and their specificities including life cycle; Floating NPPs; Transporting spent fuel from FNPP; Licensing aspects of T-SMR; Safety of transportable SMRs; SMRs for special applications.
   
• Track 5: Non-Electric Applications for SMR (A.5)
  SMRs for cogeneration of electricity and industrial process heat; Viability of seawater desalination technology; Nuclear hydrogen production: prospects and challenges; Issues of coupling; Considerations of safety, regulation and stakeholder involvement of non-electric applications; Siting consideration; SMRs for Hybrid Energy Systems.

Topical Group B: Legislative and Regulatory Frameworks

This topical group will focus on legislative and regulatory aspects related to SMRs. Consideration will be given to the applicability and suitability of the existing international legally binding instruments in the areas of nuclear safety, security, safeguards, and civil liability for nuclear damage; the potential impact of SMRs on national nuclear laws, as well as on regulatory roles and functions; and other relevant areas of law, such as environmental law, law of the sea and maritime law. Consideration will also be given to regulatory approaches, including inter alia the licensing steps depending on deployment scenarios, the application of relevant safety standards and nuclear security guidance, as well as cooperation among regulators.

• Track 6: International and National Legal Frameworks and SMRs (B.6)
  International nuclear law instruments and their application and adequacy, challenges or gaps; Other areas of international law, such as environmental law, environmental impact assessment, law of the sea, maritime law, international waste management and transboundary movement and complementarity with nuclear law instruments; National legal frameworks including the regulatory body and its functions, facilitation of cooperation and information sharing among regulatory bodies and support organizations.
   
• Track 7: Regulatory Considerations for SMRs (B.7)
  Regulatory body lessons learned from assessing SMRs; Regulatory body preparation or challenges in addressing SMRs; Innovation in regulatory frameworks to address new and advanced technologies.

Topical Group C: Safety, Security and Safeguards

This topical group will focus on the safety, security, and safeguards aspects of SMR development and deployment. This will include safety demonstration for SMRs, challenges and opportunities related to safety by design, such as design simplification, integration, modularity and new SMR deployment models. In addition, emergency preparedness and response for new SMR deployment models will be discussed. The topical group will cover physical protection considerations and computer security aspects of novel technologies applied to SMRs, in addition to security by design. In addition, safeguards by design will be discussed, to explore technical solutions to cope with specificities of safeguards implementation for SMRs. Lastly, challenges related to safety, security, and safeguards interfaces will be addressed in the context of the novelties in SMR technologies.

• Track 8: Demonstrating SMR’s Safety Case (C.8)
  Safety objectives and application of defence-in-depth to SMRs; Inherent and passive safety features; Safety challenges and opportunities related to design simplification, integration and modularity; Severe accidents and conditions to be practically eliminated; Internal and external hazards; Fuel and core safety; Materials and chemistry safety implications; Risk-informed approaches for SMRs; Novel deployment models and related implications on the leadership and management of safety.
   
• Track 9: Emergency Preparedness and Response for SMRs (C.9)
  Emergency preparedness and response (EPR) for SMRs deployed in areas with high population density; EPR for SMRs deployed in remote areas; EPR for single-module SMRs “vs.” EPR for multi-module SMRs; EPR for SMRs sited near industrial sites being used for non-electric applications.
   
• Track 10: Safety, Security and Safeguards Interfaces related to SMRs (C.10)
  General approaches to implement safety by design, security by design and safeguards by design for SMRs; Potential challenges and synergies in consideration of 3S interfaces in the SMR design stage; Examples and practices on considering the 3S interfaces in design in an integrated manner; Technical design solutions to address 3S related challenges connected with the novelties in SMR technologies.
   
• Track 11: Security of SMR: Physical Protection and Computer Security (C.11)
  Physical protection for SMR designs and deployment approaches; Security by design considerations; Challenges arising from SMR designs and operation that impact instrumentation and control (I&C), human factors, and computer security; Remote and autonomous operation aspects; Specific computer security challenges brought by SMRs.
   
• Track 12: Safeguards for SMRs (C.12)
  Addressing safeguards needs for newcomer nuclear countries procuring SMRs; Addressing safeguards challenges for operations of advanced SMR technologies and fuels; Addressing safeguards challenges for non-traditional deployment (e.g., factory-fuelled TNPP/FNPP, remote microreactor fleets, multi-module operations).

Topical Group D: Considerations to Facilitate Deployment of SMRs

This topical group will focus on how nuclear infrastructure development can create an enabling environment to facilitate deployments of SMRs. These include energy planning to meet energy demand and climate goals, integration of SMRs in energy systems with large shares of renewables, nuclear infrastructure including capacity building, stakeholder engagement, financing, cost and economic appraisals, contracting approaches, revenue models for demonstrating business case and viable deployment and business models, e.g., interactions amongst vendors, utilities, end users and other stakeholders. This area will also include international cooperation for harmonization and standardization.

• Track 13: SMRs in Energy Planning for Climate Change Mitigation (D.13)
  Advanced and hybrid energy systems using SMRs incorporating non-electric applications, including energy storage and hydrogen production; The role of policy makers in decision making on energy planning using SMRs.
   
• Track 14: Nuclear Infrastructure and Enabling Environment for SMRs (D.14)
  Benefits and challenges of embarking MSs adapting their roadmaps to nuclear power with SMRs; Support of SMR technology holders in capacity building; Bilateral/multilateral regulatory and technical cooperation to facilitate SMR reviews/deployment; Human resource development; Addressing challenges in capacity/skills building in deploying SMRs in international environments; Public Engagement / stakeholder involvement in development phase).
   
• Track 15: Financing, Cost & Economic Appraisals and Contracting Approaches for SMR Projects (D.15)
  Estimation, analyses and optimization of development costs, construction and operations expenses of SMRs; Revenue models for demonstrating business case and securing access to funding and financing; Macroeconomic impact of SMR development; Lifecycle cost of operating and decommissioning SMRs; Viable deployment and business models of SMRs; The economics of SMRs for repurposing retiring fossil-based plants.
   
• Track 16: Public and Stakeholder Engagements in SMR Development and Deployment (D.16)
  Public engagement in the deployment of SMRs; specific challenges on SMRs; Involvement from non-nuclear stakeholders including hydrogen producers; Innovative tools and communication strategies or initiatives to facilitate SMR deployment; Engagement of investors to fund SMR projects; Engaging young generations via inter alia specific curriculum introduction in basic education.
   
• Track 17: Cooperation for Harmonization and Standardization (D.17)
  Bilateral and multilateral cooperation on assessing SMR designs; Regulatory body approaches and experience leveraging others’ regulatory reviews; Projects toward international harmonization of safety requirements; Experience/lessons learned from other industries related to international harmonization and standardization; Vendors’ approaches towards standardization to enable global deployment.

Call for Papers

Contributions on the topics listed above are welcome as oral or poster presentations. All submissions, apart from invited papers, must present original work, which has not been published elsewhere.

1. Submission of Abstracts
Abstracts (approximately 150 to 200 words on one A4 page, may contain any charts, graphs, figures and references) should give enough information on the content of the proposed paper to enable the Programme Committee to evaluate it. Anyone wishing to present at the conference must submit an abstract in electronic format using the conference’s file submission system (IAEA-INDICO), which is accessible on the "Related Resources" tab of this webspage. The abstract can be submitted through this system from 15 December 2023 until 15 MARCH 2024 (FINAL DEADLINE). Specifications for the layout will be available on IAEA-INDICO. The system for electronic submission of abstracts, IAEA-INDICO, is the sole mechanism for submission of contributed abstracts. Authors are encouraged to submit abstracts as early as possible. The IAEA will not accept submissions via email.

In addition, authors must register online using the InTouch+ platform (see Section H). The online registration together with the auto-generated Participation Form (Form A) and Form for Submission of a Paper (Form B) must reach the IAEA no later than 15 MARCH 2024 (FINAL DEADLINE).

IMPORTANT: The Programme Committee will consider uploaded abstracts only if these two forms have been received by the IAEA through the established official channels (see information on Registration).

2. Acceptance of Abstracts
The Secretariat reserves the right to exclude abstracts that do not comply with its technical or scientific quality standards and that do not apply to one of the topics listed in above.

Authors will be informed after 7 April 2024 as to whether their submission has been accepted for presentation at the conference. Accepted abstracts will also be reproduced in an unedited electronic compilation of Abstracts which will be made available to all registered participants of the conference.

3. Submission of Full Papers
Authors of accepted abstracts will be requested to submit a full paper in Word format, of about 5 to 7 pages in length. A compilation of full papers (in electronic format) will be made available to participants at registration.

Full papers must also be submitted through the IAEA-INDICO file submission system in Word format. Submitting the paper in the indicated electronic format is mandatory. Specifications for the layout and electronic format of the contributed papers and for the preparation of posters will be made available on IAEA-INDICO.

The IAEA reserves the right to exclude papers that do not comply with its quality standards and those that do not apply to one of the topics outlined in Section C above and those that do not meet the expectations based on the information in the abstract. The paper should comply with teh format of the IAEA template.

The deadline for electronic submission of the full papers as Word files is 14 June 2024 (final deadline). The IAEA will not accept papers submitted after the deadline.

The IAEA will notify authors of its completed review process of the full papers by 31 July 2024. The deadline for revised papers to be submitted through IAEA-INDICO is 6 September 2024.

IMPORTANT: The system for electronic submission of papers, IAEA-INDICO, is the sole mechanism for submission of contributed papers. Authors are encouraged to submit papers as early as possible. The IAEA will not accept submissions via email.

4. Proceedings
Following the conference, the IAEA will publish a summary report. The proceedings will be made available to read online.