Global Forum for Nuclear Innovation Network (GFNI)

Existing Light Water Reactor technology is mature and current plants operate with high levels of safety, efficiency and capacity factors. The industry benefits from a highly skilled and motivated workforce and unique levels of cross-company and cross-border collaboration, that continuously need to be strengthened. Furthermore, climate change concerns and the need for non-carbon generation sources present a clear, continuing, vital role for nuclear power and there is growing recognition that nuclear and renewables are both needed as part of the future generation mix. Energy end-use transition (electrification) will further amplify the need for non-emitting generation.

Facing the challenges of transition

That said, the current transition of the electricity industry - including cheap natural gas and the increasing penetration of variable renewable generation - is putting economic pressures on nuclear, challenging the economic sustainability of many plants. Post-Fukushima public support of nuclear has been “dented” and the nuclear industry is widely perceived to be locked-in to “old technology” and slow to embrace technology to improve.

Nuclear technology has been challenged to take hold of new manufacturing capabilities being used regularly in other sectors to enhance productivity. Without a secure current fleet, it is unlikely the current staffing pipeline and supply chain will be sustained to support the future of the industry.

A coordinated global effort, leveraging the unique collaborative culture of the industry, to identify innovation opportunities, understand the benefits and remove barriers to implementation is increasingly regarded as necessary.

A new initiative

To reach this global effort, a first forum was co-organized by the IAEA, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), the United Kingdom's National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL), the OECD's Nuclear Energy Agency (OECD/NEA) and was hosted by Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP) in Gyeongju, Republic of Korea, in June 2019. Delegates at "Innovation for the Future of Nuclear Energy – A Global Forum" prioritized the most critical innovation technologies or processes and answered a set of questions to begin to pursue a plan of action for each of those innovations. In July 2022, the second Forum was co-organized by the IAEA, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), the United Kingdom's National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL), the OECD's Nuclear Energy Agency (OECD/NEA) and hosted by Électricité de France (EDF). The 2022 Forum included a series of immersive workshops to equip participants with valuable skill sets. The next Forum will be held in June 2024 in Miami Beach, Florida, United States, which will also be co-organized by the IAEA, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), the United Kingdom's National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL), the OECD's Nuclear Energy Agency (OECD/NEA), and hosted by NextEra Energy and FPL jointly.

The idea of creating and supporting a network on innovation that would support the abovementioned plan to action and momentum clearly appeared. The IAEA offered its capabilities to structure and facilitate this new initiative.

In 2019 a GFNI Network was launched in the IAEA’s Connect Platform. The COVID-19 Pandemic challenged early engagement. Over the course of 2020 through 2022 the Network evolved to the International Network on Innovation to Support Operating Nuclear Power Plants (ISOP). ISOP was formally launched in April 2023 via an IAEA Technical Meeting. Participants shared their experience and developed a series of detailed recommendations for areas where ISOP could serve as a platform to launch international collaboration on diverse innovation topics as well as strengthen and/or complement activities already underway in the Member States. A pilot working group on Artificial Intelligence has been active since July 2022. As of September 2023, a group on Advanced Manufacturing is being developed and collaboration on robotic applications at nuclear power plants is being explored.