Small modular reactors (SMRs) could make an important contribution to achieving global climate goals and energy supply security. But with more than 70 SMR designs under development in 18 countries – including innovative reactors that are yet to be licensed and novel methods of modular manufacturing that are new to the nuclear industry – widely deploying SMRs in time to address climate change remains a tall task.
To accelerate that process, the IAEA has launched a new initiative bringing together policy makers, regulators, designers, vendors and operators to develop common regulatory and industrial approaches to SMRs. The Nuclear Harmonization and Standardization Initiative (NHSI), announced last month by IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi, aims to facilitate the safe and secure deployment of SMRs and other advanced nuclear technologies to maximize 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,” Mr Grossi said. “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.”
A fraction the size of large reactors and with lower upfront capital costs, SMRs look set to expand global access to reliable nuclear power. They are more flexible for integration with other clean energy sources and can also be used for non-electric applications such as industrial heat and hydrogen production. The first SMR units are already deployed: aboard a floating nuclear power plant in Russia and also in China, where high-temperature gas-cooled SMRs are set to provide low carbon heat to decarbonize industrial processes. Another SMR unit, water-cooled, is in an advanced stage of construction in Argentina, and the United States has certified an SMR design as meeting regulatory safety requirements.
The cost advantage of SMRs comes, partly, from the idea that prefabricated modules could be produced in factories and assembled on site. 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 key.
