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REQUIREMENTS OF SMR TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT & DEPLOYMENT IN THE UK

DAN MATHERSHEAD OF TECHNICALSMR AND EMERGING NUCLEAR POLICY TEAM

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UK energy mix

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UK nuclear new build programme

Gen II plants to close by 2026

Cap

acity

Meg

awat

ts (M

We)

Planned nuclear generation in UK

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4

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

Current generating capacity

Increase in capacity needed

Minimum generating capacity required in

2065

New nuclear power stations

New generation sources

Demand increase

Plant retirements

Existing capacity

Reference: National Audit Office analysis of Department of Energy & Climate energy and emissions projects data.

Inst

alle

d ca

paci

ty (G

igaw

atts

GW

e)

To what extent could nuclear contribute to UK electricity generation in the long term?

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SMRs role in energy mix

• Nuclear energy has important role in transition to low-carbon economy.

• 18GW of proposed new nuclear capacity over coming decades.

• SMRs offer the potential to reduce costs through modularisation and leverage skills and expertise in UK.

• Could be space for both small and large scale nuclear in future mix.

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For SMRs to be part of the UK future energy mix the following aspects need to be considered:

• Technical feasibility and timescales.• Cost competitive for UK market• Could also be an advantage if deployable at sites other than those suitable for large

reactors, right sized for grid infrastructure and fits with other sources of supply.

• Meet UK regulatory & security requirements.

Many ways of approaching the above.• Different reactor designs with different technical characteristics.

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• Economies of scale (e.g. larger single unit) vs economies of multiples.• Shorter build time, modularisation, transportable components. • Tried and trusted nuclear technology (lowers R&D and approval challenge),• Improved approaches to verification and validation & modelling,• Increase the energy density.• longer re-fuelling cycles, more efficient fuel cycles, in-situ plant inspection and PIE,

reduced staffing levels, addition of modules whilst operating existing, single control room from multiple modules.

• Waste management, storage and disposal technology for standard repository ready spent fuels vs re-use of waste through advanced designs

• Design for decommissioning – activation of materials, modular deconstruction• Optimise revenue from secondary application e.g. load following, heat production,

desalination.

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Technical solutions proposed to minimise costs

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Flexibility and/or other applications• Power output compatible with grid

capacity and connectivity.• Power peaking and load following.• Other target applications

− Industrial grade heat: designs with higher outlet temperatures.

− Waste disposition: range of ambition from recycle of spent fuel through to transmutation of waste in a fast spectrum.

− Use of low grade heat for domestic heating, hydrogen production, desalination, radioisotope production.

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What is load following?Varying the output of a generating unit as system demand changes over the long and short term.

A nuclear power plant is able to load follow through:• Bypassing the steam turbine, for rapid

responses to change in demand.• Adjusting reactor power, through reactor control

rods or boron control.• Taking one or more modules offline.

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Technical solutions proposed to enable siting• Smaller plant and construction site footprints.• Reduced demand for cooling water. • Not constrained to the coast for seawater

cooling.• Underground siting: potential for construction

cost reduction, protect against external hazards.• Fit with grid and transport infrastructure at

existing licenced sites.• Compatible with prior site licences.

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Technical solutions proposed to enhance safety and security• Reliance on passive safety features, which are considered not to require

nuclear grade backup due to their high reliability.• Designs with non water coolants – higher boiling point, low vapour

pressures, large thermal inertia, good cooling. • Security by design:

− Underground siting – benefits include reduced concrete, lower operational security manpower.

− Low enrichment of fuel.− Siting next to fuel plant.

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Assessment of technical feasibility and timescales

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• Technical maturity:• Consideration of key plant areas.• Technology Readiness Levels.• Evaluation of evidence:

− Completeness, accuracy, reliability.

− degree of innovation.− unresolved technical challenges.

• Development plan:• Timescales and activities to

deployment.• Testing, qualification, verification and

validation:− Test bed infrastructure required.

Concept design

Verification & validationDemonstration & testing

Detailed design

GDAFOAK

site licencing

FOAK OperationFOAK build

Fleet plant 1 build

Fleet plant 2 build

Fleet plant 5 build

Fleet plant 4 build

Fleet plant 3 build

Fleet plant 1 operation

Fleet plant 2 operation

Fleet plant 3 operation

Fleet plant 4 operation

6 12 18 24

Fleet plant 5

operation

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Cost evaluations

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AACE Estimate Class

Uncertainty range

Class 3: Used for budget

authorisation

-15% to +20%

Class 4: Used for feasibility study

-22.5% to +35%

Class 5: Used for concept screening

-35% to +65%

• Lifecycle of costs.

• Cost estimate bias and uncertainty.

• FOAK premium.

• NOAK and learning rates.

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Consistent with large nuclear plant.Full scope of criteria as per current National Policy Statement for nuclear.Evaluation includes:• Population density.• Proximity to military activities.• Presence within / proximity to nationally or internationally designated

ecological sites.• Consideration of whether the size of a site is adequate.• Proximity to a source of cooling water.• Suitability of cooling water.• Flood risk.• Coastal processes.• Proximity to hazardous facilities.• Proximity to civil aircraft movements.• Potential for negative effect on areas of amenity, cultural heritage

and landscape value.• Consideration of whether the land at the site is suitable.

Siting evaluations

Nuclear power, research and process sites

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Regulatory scrutiny

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• Overarching nuclear safety requirement is that risks should be reduced to as low as reasonably practicable (ALARP).

• Responsibility of a GDA applicant to provide an adequate Safety, Security and Environmental Report.

• Alignment with Safety Assessment Principles (SAPs).

• Alignment with Radiological Substances Regulation – Environmental Principles (REPs).

Safety & Environmental standards and regulations steps:• Generic Design Assessment:

− Includes Safety Assessment Principles.

• Planning application for a site:− Includes siting nationally

significant infrastructure.• Licence and approvals to build

and operate:− Secure locations e.g.

underground siting.

Internal HazardsCivil Engineering and External HazardsProbabilistic Safety AnalysisFault StudiesContainment and Severe AccidentsControl and InstrumentationElectrical EngineeringFuel DesignReactor ChemistryRadiological ProtectionMechanical EngineeringStructural IntegrityHuman FactorsRadioactive Waste and Spent Fuel ManagementManagement of Safety & QACross cutting IssuesSecurityEnvironmental Impacts

GDA topic areas

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Regulatory scrutiny

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UK regulatory expectations may for example include;

• Mitigation of Design Basis Accidents, for example− to provide nuclear-grade safeguard systems to address very low probability multiple-failure

sequences.− to provide two diverse nuclear-grade systems (main and backup) to deliver the safety

functions of decay heat removal, reactivity control and containment of radioactivity in all plant states.

• Demonstration of the effectiveness of natural convective and radiative processes for the removal of decay heat under real conditions.

• A non-computerised backup to the main digital protection system.

• Extensive inspection and analysis of high integrity components.

• Detailed evaluation of novel engineering concepts such as control rod drives which are internal to the reactor pressure vessel.

• Operational manning defined on "per critical assembly" basis vs a "per megawatt thermal basis".

• EPZ – influenced by the potential releases in accidents outside the design basis. Reduction would require demonstration of negligible radioactive material release under any circumstances.

• Satisfactory criticality assessment of the transport of used fuel bundles or cores.

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Techno-EconomicAssessment Competition

Other Independent

ResearchRecent UK governmentactivities

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SMR competition• Launched in March 2016 to further explore potential of

SMRs and give industry an opportunity to engage with Government on drivers and enablers for deployment.

Key Points• There are many reactor technologies offering different

market solutions and presenting different challenges.• Vendors have identified the UK as a key market and

are seeking to leverage the UK’s expertise in civil nuclear.

• Vendors have presented ambitious timelines to delivery.

• Participants want clarity over policy objectives and confidence to deliver economies of mass production.

• Early engagement with regulator key to understanding licensing and design assessment challenges.

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Techno-Economic Assessment

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• £4.5 million study to explore potential of SMRs.Key Points• If SMRs achieve predicted learning rates they

could be cheaper than comparative technologies.

• Mature technologies could be deployed in the UK by 2030.

• Novel technologies are more likely to deploy in the UK after 2030.

• SMRs present licensing challenges and vendors will need robust evidence on safety claims.

• More work is needed to ensure that the existing licensing and design assessment process does not present unnecessary barriers to SMRs.

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Current activity on SMRs

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• Continued engagement with industry to test emerging policy thinking.• Assessing economic data from vendors to test assumptions about financability

and role in energy mix.• Considering barriers to market entry for SMRs, including siting and regulatory

approvals.• Identifying areas where UK supply chain has capability and capacity to deliver

modular technologies or components and provide targeted R&D funding.

• Looking at market size for SMRs to determine export opportunities.• Exploring opportunities for international collaboration.

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Next steps

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• SMRs offer the potential to boost skills and create jobs in the UK, as well as reducing the cost of energy through modularisation.

• UK Government has been working closely with industry to explore this potential, through the SMR Competition and studies such as the Techno-Economic Assessment.

• The evidence has shown that there are a wide range of technologies, at different levels of maturity and market readiness.

• Government is now actively engaged in discussions with industry, through the Industrial Strategy Nuclear Sector Deal, to reach a shared position on the potential enablers for SMR development and deployment.