International Project on Innovative Nuclear Reactors and Fuel Cycles (INPRO)

INPRO was established in 2000 to help ensure that nuclear energy remains available to contribute to meeting global energy needs until the end of the 21st century. It provides a forum for experts and policy makers from industrialized and developing countries to discuss and cooperate on such issues as the sustainable planning, development and deployment of nuclear energy. It promotes a mutually beneficial dialogue between countries that have developed nuclear technology and countries that consider using these technologies to build new nuclear energy capacity. The Project also supports national strategic and long-term planning by developing and providing tools and services that increase awareness of the options available to develop a sustainable nuclear energy future.

From nuclear energy scenarios to strategy setting

INPRO activities take place in close cooperation with the IAEA’s Member States. They cover the following task areas: global scenarios, innovations, sustainability assessment and strategies, and dialogue and outreach. 

Using scientific-technical analysis tools, INPRO develops global and regional nuclear energy scenarios to investigate how collaborations among different States and organizations can facilitate the transition to globally sustainable nuclear energy systems and develop roadmaps to a more sustainable future.  

INPRO also supports collaborative projects including the examination of innovative reactor concepts to consider how they may prevent severe accidents; studies on waste potentially generated by innovative reactors and fuel cycles; and how increased Member State cooperation in the back-end of the fuel cycle could produce broad benefits for nuclear energy sustainability in the future.

Other collaborative projects and activities spearheaded by INPRO and its members develop and use the Project’s methodology to assess the sustainability of nuclear energy systems. Some consider how to measure a nuclear energy system’s proliferation resistance, its economic merits, and to demonstrate progress on safety by design. INPRO’s activities also support the sustainability assessments performed by its members and their long-term planning activities.

INPRO is guided by its Steering Committee composed of representatives from 43 member countries and the European Commission (EC). This Committee meets annually to review progress and provide guidance on future activities. Every two years, the Committee endorses the INPRO Subprogramme Plan, which defines project areas, as well as detailed tasks and priorities for the implementation of activities. INPRO is funded primarily by extra-budgetary contributions of its members.