Nuclear Deployment & Value Chain Working Groups

Cooperation in Reactor Design Evaluation and Licensing (CORDEL)

Chair: Michelle Catts (GE-Hitachi)
Vice Chair: Peter Hastings (Kairos Power), Karel Deknopper (NUWARD), Byung-Ryul Jung (KEPCO E&C)
Staff Directors: Allan Carson, Ronan Tanguy

CORDEL’s mission is to facilitate the deployment of standardized reactor designs through the promotion of a worldwide nuclear regulatory environment in which regulatory authorities can utilize the outcomes from safety evaluations carried out by other regulatory authorities, in order to streamline their licensing process. Such a regulatory environment will require strong support and co-operation from both industry and national governments.

CORDEL acts as the voice of industry in the areas of reactor design standardization and regulatory streamlining throughout multiple forums with international and regional organizations such as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), OECD/Nuclear Energy Agency, European Nuclear Installations Safety Standards Initiative (ENISS), European Utility Requirements for LWR Power Plants (EUR), Western Nuclear Regulatory Association (WENRA), International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and the Standards Development Organization Convergence Board (SDO CB).

In 2019, a CORDEL Strategic Plan for 2019-2023 was issued, describing a phased approach to the desired goal of regulatory streamlining. An update to this plan for the coming three years will be published in 2023.

CORDEL and its associated Task Forces (as below) have published various reports across a range of subject areas, identifying gaps and potential solutions to support increased multi- lateral regulatory cooperation. The reports can be found on the World Nuclear Association website here.  

CORDEL held its fourth regional workshop in association with the ENISS and EUR in Lyon, France on 18-20 May 2022 hosted by EDF and Framatome - summary. The next workshop in this series is planned for May 2024, to be hosted by Team Korea and Korea Nuclear Association in the Republic of Korea.

 
Mechanical Codes and Standards Task Force
Chair: Nawal Prinja (Jacobs)  
Vice Chair: Frédéric Beaud (EDF)

The Mechanical Codes and Standards Task Force (MCSTF) of the CORDEL Working Group principally collaborates with the Standards Development Organizations Convergence Board (SDO CB) and the  Codes and Standards Working Group  under the Committee of Nuclear Regulatory Activities of the OECD/Nuclear Energy Agency. As of 2022, the MCSTF holds the technical secretary role of the SDO CB enabling it to better coordinate standardization work.

Currently, the MCSTF is jointly leading the code comparison work within the IAEA’s Nuclear Harmonization and Standardization Initiative to produce a database of leading national nuclear mechanical codes and standards and how their scopes align or differ.
 
Design Change Management Task Force
Co-Chair: Jinxing Yan (SNERDI)
 
The Task Force, currently on hold, contributes to work to facilitate the sharing of design change information on common nuclear power plant designs among different utilities, owners groups, and international organizations, and to maintain a dialogue with WANO and the IAEA on the responsibilities of operators on how they manage their fleets and cooperate internationally to keep a high degree of standardization.  

Licensing and Permitting Task Force
Chair: Claude Mayoral (Edvance)
Vice Chair: Carrie Fossaen (NuScale Power)

The Task Force benchmarks leading practices regarding regulatory design review and licensing and promotes innovation leading to more efficient licensing processes. The task force often works in cooperation with other task forces to address specific licensing challenges across the scope of CORDEL activities.

IAEA Nuclear Safety Standards Task Force
Chair: Etienne Courtin (Framatome) 
Vice Chair: Robert Vesecky (CEZ,a.s.)
Staff Director: Ronan Cavellec

This Task Force actively contributes to the IAEA Nuclear Safety Standards Committee (NUSSC), providing consolidated industry inputs and feedback. The Task Force closely collaborate with ENISS and EUR to avoid duplication.  

Digital Instrumentation & Control Task Force
Chair: Johannes Pickelmann (Framatome)  
Vice Chair: Vacant

The Task Force works across several key areas of I&C including defence-in-depth and diversity, safety classification, comparison on international standards, and the use of Field-Programable Gate Arrays (FPGA) and software reliability. The Task Force cooperates closely with OECD/NEA CNRA-WGDIC as well as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) communities.    
  

Small Modular Reactor Task Force 
Chair: Peter Hastings (Kairos Power) 
Vice Chair: Helena Perry (Rolls-Royce SMR) 

The Group promotes application of the CORDEL model to global SMR deployment, presenting and discussing it at relevant international fora, such as the IAEA SMR Regulators’ Forum and INPRO.
 
The Task Force, in conjunction with the Licensing and Permitting Task Force, develops proposals for more innovative and efficient licensing of SMRs through looking at topics, such as in-factory certification of modules; inherent safety features and passive safety system capability justification; changes needed in the regulatory/licensing framework for non-LWR/advanced reactors; security approaches, non-proliferation issues; and emergency planning zones.

Supply Chain and Long-term Operation

Chair: Laurent-Olivier Coudeyre (EDF)  
Staff Director: Nathan Paterson

The Group’s mission is to enable a competitive and resilient supply chain in delivering worldwide nuclear new build and long-term operations. Activities are focussed on enabling a successful business environment to industrialize new nuclear technologies; manufacturing, supply equipment and services; deploy and construct nuclear power plants and deliver their long term operation.  

The group supports the development of the periodic Supply Chain Outlook Report which consolidates key data, analysis and recommendations. It provides a market-oriented review of the opportunities and challenges for nuclear power plants and their supply chain.

Activities include: monitoring and identifying market trends; sharing of best practice for supply chain strategies; developing industry guidance for cost-competitive, consistent and efficient nuclear plant construction and refurbishments; and exploring the balance of both global and local supply chains driving the industry into new market segments and partnerships, and encouraging the development of supportive mechanisms for product quality assurance and continuous performance improvement.  

The Group exchanges regularly with international stakeholders on industrial developments including with the OECD/NEA’sCNRA Working Group on Supply Chain (WGSUP), IAEA Supply Chain Management activities, World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO), regional nuclear associations and Nuclear Quality Standard Association (NQSA).

The group also produces other relevant reports such as Lesson-learning in Nuclear Construction Projects and Countering Counterfeit, Fraudulent and Suspect Items in the Nuclear Supply Chain. 

Decommissioning 

Chair: Mike Pieraccini (EDF)  
Staff Director: Aaron Erim

The Working Group monitors trends in waste management and decommissioning strategies on both the international and local level, and seeks to establish a consensus for a more effective system of decommissioning. The Group promotes resource efficiency through the appropriate re-use and recycling of material, and the safe long-term disposal of radioactive wastes from nuclear sites as prescribed in national regulation. Additionally, it cooperates with other Working Groups on topics of mutual interest, such as the radiological protection of workers during decommissioning, or regarding multinational repositories. 
 
Following its Methodological guide for managing waste from decommissioning published in 2019, the Working Group has recently focused on circular economy, and on the alignment of regulations to SMR deployment. 
The WG covers various strategic, technical and economic aspects of decommissioning and associated material and waste management.  

The outcomes of the WG are actively promoted internationally through conferences and technical papers in which the WG members are involved.  

The Group is regularly represented and actively contributes to various international organisations and technical committees such as the IAEA’s International Radioactive Waste Technical Committee (WATEC), the IAEA’s Status and Trends in Spent Fuel and Radioactive Waste Management report steering committee, and the NEA’s Working Parties and Committees.

Economics, Law and Finance

Chair: Milton Caplan (MZ Consulting)
Co-Chair: Elina Teplinsky (Pillsbury) Irina Skvortsova (Rosatom)

This Group covers an important range of topics relating to the economics, law and financing of nuclear facilities, notably new nuclear power plants, for both developed or developing countries.  

The group explores the economics, the capital costs and competitiveness of nuclear energy in the overall generating mix. This includes considering the socio-economic benefits and life-cycle analyses and comparing of low-carbon electricity generation. The Group also studies energy and electricity markets that recognise and support nuclear energy for its benefit and cost effectiveness of the overall electricity system.

This Group also raises awareness of the legal issues and developments affecting the global nuclear industry amongst the membership of the Association, as well as to provide a forum to the members’ legal representatives to discuss global issues; such as development on nuclear liability and insurance.  

The Working Group aims to seek to engage and influence the financial community, to increase awareness and value proposition of investing in nuclear energy.  

The Group has developed mutually beneficial relationships with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) as well as with other relevant stakeholders and has supported the Harmony programme on projects with UNECE and ASEAN.