Working Groups
Fuel Report | Sustainable Used Fuel Management | Transport | INSAF | Fuel Cycle Members' Forum | CORDEL | Supply Chain| Capacity Optimization | Waste Management & Decomm | Radiological Protection | Law | Economics | Security | Advisory Panel | Communication Group
Working Groups are exclusive forums that convene regularly in order to allow members to share best practice, conduct analysis, and develop consolidated positions on economic, safety and environmental issues. Several Groups act as the interface for industry at policy-setting organisations, such as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the International Commission for Radiological Protection (ICRP) and the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) of the OECD. Each Group is chaired by an expert from a member company, and has a mentor assigned to it from the Board. Administrative and technical support is provided by the Secretariat.
Advisory Groups support the Secretariat in identifying opportunities and challenges for the Association.
World Nuclear Association member representatives can view all Working Group reports, documents, presentations and contact lists on the members website.
Upcoming meetings
April Working Groups
17-18 April 2023, The Hague, the Netherlands
September Working Groups
4-6 September 2023, London, UK
Fuel Cycle Working Groups
Fuel Report
Co-Chair for Utilities:
Julien Garrel (EDF)
Co-Chair for Suppliers: Malcolm Critchley (ConverDyn)
Staff Director:
Olga Skorlyakova
Published since the 1970s, The Nuclear Fuel Report: Global Scenarios for Demand and Supply Availability compiles data from confidential surveys, international agencies and other public sources to produce an authoritative projection of global nuclear fuel supply and demand. Member experts of the Fuel Report Working Group cooperate on the report through six sub-groups. Each focuses on different areas of the fuel cycle and has ownership of different chapters. The next edition will be published in September 2023.
Demand Sub-Group
Co-Chair for Utilities: Pierre Bertrand (EDF)
Co-Chair for Suppliers: Matt Lichtenwald (Cameco)
Agrees on three scenarios (Lower, Reference, Upper) for future nuclear capacity out to a 20-year horizon and the main assumptions (e.g. load factors) affecting future requirements.
Uranium Supply Sub-Group
Chair: Chris Frankland (Nuclear Fuels Corporation)
Discusses classification of existing mines, projects under development, and anticipated uranium supply.
Conversion Sub-Group
Chair: Pierre Joly (Orano)
Analyses future conversion supply capacities versus demand in this concentrated segment of the fuel cycle.
Enrichment Sub-Group
Chair: Hongzhao (Rico) LI (China Nuclear Energy Industry Corp.)
Focuses on key questions affecting this area of the fuel cycle including: supply-demand imbalance, underfeeding, tails re-enrichment, various trade issues.
Secondary Supply Sub-Group
Chair: Rolf Kwasny (Consultant)
Examines key trends and the contributions of various sources of secondary supplies.
Fabrication Sub-Group
Chair: Ulf Benjaminsson (Westinghouse Electric Company)
Discusses this dynamic part of the fuel market, analysing future prospects and the impacts of new developments on the fuel cycle as a whole.
Sustainable Used Fuel Management
Chair: Cécile Evans (Orano)
Deputy Chair: Anders Sjöland (Vattenfall)
Staff Director:
Aaron Erim
The mission of this Group is to shape industry positions with a view to engaging in the international debate on sustainable management strategies for the back end of the fuel cycle. The Group also acts as a forum for experts to share good practices and major developments in used fuel management.
In 2018, four sub-groups were set up to help better focus activities on areas of importance to industry:
1] Lessons learnt from research reactor management of used fuel
2] Characterization of existing and emerging industrial infrastructures for used fuel management
3] Identifying innovative processes for managing used fuel and the constraints to their development
4] A long-term integrated step-wise system approach to used fuel management to mitigate risks and uncertainties
Joint sessions were also held with the Law and Waste Management & Decommissioning Groups to address cross-cutting issues.
In 2019, the Group took part in the programme committee and presented papers at the IAEA Conference on the Management of Spent Fuel from Nuclear Power Reactors. It will continue to represent industry at international forums including on the Steering Committee for the IAEA’s Status and Trends in Spent Fuel and Radioactive Waste Management report
Transport
Chair: Kurtis Hinz (TAM International)
Deputy Chair: Tony Grange (Westinghouse)
Staff Director:
Serge Gorlin
This Group acts as a forum for communicating industry developments, exchanging leading practice, and for identifying and resolving issues relating to the shipment of nuclear material. The primary focus of the Group is to address commercial topics relating to the transport of front-end nuclear materials.
The Group is represented on the Transport Facilitation Working Group (TFWG), a multi-stakeholder initiative to preserve and open up new routes for the transport of radioactive material, and on the IAEA’s Transport Safety Standards Committee (TRANSSC). It also enjoys reciprocal relations with the World Nuclear Transport Institute.
Areas of interest:
Dialogue with the insurance community to improve options for nuclear transport
Development of communication materials explaining why and how we transport radioactive material
Gathering information from members regarding experience with carriers and ports
Discussing policies with intergovernmental agencies that could support more direct and diverse shipping options
INSAF
The International Network for Safety Assurance of Fuel Cycle Industries or INSAF transferred to become a World Nuclear Association Working Group in 2018. The mission of the Group is to exchange safety-related information in order to maintain and develop safety at nuclear fuel cycle facilities. It also encompasses informing the wider nuclear industry about safety relating to fuel cycle facilities, providing assurance to stakeholders, and input in the development of global nuclear safety standards. Areas of focus for INSAF are: safety regulation; safety design; safety control; training; accident/event Information; support systems between members in the event of an accident; public acceptance.
Fuel Cycle Members' Forum
Chair: Anna Bryndza (UxC)
Staff Director: Kaajal Desai
The Fuel Cycle Members' Forum focuses on developments in nuclear fuel and trade, typically attracting 80-90 people to its meetings. Sessions consist of formal presentations and panel discussions as well as reports from Working Groups of the association. Topics are regularly surveyed from the participants of the forum, and discussed in the advisory panels to create agenda of the meetings.
Plant Performance Working Groups
Cooperation in Reactor Design Evaluation and Licensing (CORDEL)
Chair: Tom Bergman (NuScale Power)
Vice Chair: Nawal Prinja (Jacobs,) Byung-Ryul Jung (KEPCO E&C)
Staff Directors: Allan Carson, Ronan Tanguy
CORDEL’s mission is to promote a worldwide nuclear regulatory environment where internationally accepted standardized reactor designs can be widely deployed without major design changes at the national level. In practice, this would mean that generic design certification and safety evaluations approved by a recognized competent authority would be acceptable in other countries.
CORDEL acts as industry’s voice in the areas of reactor design standardization and regulatory Streamlining with 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), International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and the Standards Development Organization Convergence Board (SDO CB).
In 2019, a new CORDEL Strategic Plan for 2019-2023 was issued, focusing on both new-build and long-term operation aspects of nuclear power plants.
CORDEL recently published a report in December 2021 on Different Interpretations of Regulatory Requirements, studying several regulatory regimes to determine how varying interpretations of fundamental nuclear safety standards have led to significant differences in versions of the same reactor design built in different countries.
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.
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 was set up in 2010 to collaborate with the Standards Development Organizations Convergence Board (SDO CB) and the Multinational Design Evaluation Program (MDEP) Codes and Standards Working Group (CSWG) on the international convergence of mechanical codes and standards, related to the design of nuclear power plant’s components important to safety. During 2018, the work of MDEP Codes and Standards Working Group (CSWG) was transferred to the Working Group on Codes and Standards Working Group (WGCS) under the Committee of Nuclear Regulatory Activities (CNRA) of the OECD/Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA). The Task Force maintains close cooperation with the CNRA/WGCS. As of 2022, the MCSTF holds the technical secretary role of the Standards Development Organization Convergence Board (SDO CB) enabling it to better coordinate harmonization work.
Currently, the MCSTF has two pilot projects: advanced manufacturing and fatigue life analysis. The Task Force is finalizing its report on advanced manufacturing, which will present the status of current industry projects and emphasize the need to harmonize the codification of the technologies to enable their global deployment in the nuclear industry. The Task Force is continuing its work on fatigue life analysis following publication of its report “Comparison of Pressure Vessel Fatigue Codified Design Rules Based on S-N Approach” in July 2020. The Task Force completed its project on Non-Linear Analysis with the publication of “Non-Linear Analysis Design Rules Part 3: Recommendations for Industrial Practices”.
Design Change Management Task Force
Co-Chair: Jinxing Yan (SNERDI); Vacant
The Task Force revisited its scope and work programme in 2018. The Task Force 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 has worked on the concept of a reference plant which could be more easily licensed in a given country by taking advantage of an acceptance of the reference plant design by a competent safety authority. The
report on reference plant concept was published at the end of 2019. The Task Force continues to benchmark leading practices regarding licensing and promotes innovation leading to more efficient licensing processes. In June 2021, the task force completed the report ‘
Design Maturity and Regulatory expectations for Small Modular Reactors’ jointly with SMRTF, which identified country specific approaches to licensing and the required design maturity to engage regulators in the licensing processes. In December 2021 the Task Force published a report on the different interpretations of regulatory requirements, setting out the challenge posed to the nuclear industry by the current national approach to nuclear regulation.
IAEA Nuclear Safety Standards Task Force
Chair: Etienne Courtin (Framatome)
Vice Chair: Robert Vesecky (CEZ,a.s.)
This Task Force actively contributes to the IAEA Nuclear Safety Standards Committee (NUSSC), providing consolidated industry inputs and feedback. In 2020, the focus was on Chemistry Programme for Water Cooled Nuclear Power Plants, Equipment Qualification for Nuclear Installations, and Development and Application of Level 2 Probabilistic Safety Assessment for Nuclear Power Plants . The Task Force took part of the NUSSC’s working group on Safety Guide on Assessment of the Application of General Requirements for Design of Nuclear Power Plants and the consultancy meetings of the IAEA SMR Safety Working Group on applicability reviews of current safety standards, and provided the IAEA with industry inputs to the safety guide update and comments on safety standards applicability. The Task Force closely collaborate with ENISS and EUR to avoid duplication.
Digital Instrumentation & Control Task Force
Chair: Johannes Pickelmann (Framatome)
Vice Chair: Alan Poole (Jacobs)
The Task Force continues to work on defence-in-depth and diversity aspects as well as on safety classification related questions. A revision of the
report on the comparison of key concepts following comments by the OECD/NEA CNRA-WGDIC and changes in national definitions was published in 2019. Similarly, the
report on safety classification for I&C Systems in Nuclear Power Plants - Current Status & Difficulties was revised taking into account comments from CNRA-WGDIC and published in March 2020. The Task Force published another
document on International Nuclear I&C and Electrical System Standards Tables with URLs in May 2020, which brings together the related standards used by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) communities.
Following a workshop on I&C modernization held in Erlangen, Germany in October 2019, the Task Force published a report on I&C modernization in September 2020. Other topics being currently discussed for future activities are related to cybersecurity and FPGAs. The Task Force will maintain its efforts to increase the visibility of its work within relevant SDOs and international organizations (IEEE, NEA CNRA, etc), and continue to interact with IAEA in the development of relevant TECDOCs.
In May 2022, the DICTF published a report on Hardware Description Language (HDL) Programmed Device (HPD) Technology in Nuclear Power Plants, outlining the lack of consistency in both industry standards and regulatory approaches for these technologies.
Small Modular Reactors 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 provided industry’s common comments on the Phase 2 interim reports of the IAEA SMR regulators’ forum in June 2020. In June 2021, the task force completed the report ‘Design Maturity and Regulatory expectations for Small Modular Reactors’ jointly with LPTF, which identified country specific approaches to licensing and the required design maturity to engage regulators in the licensing processes.
The Task Force continues to develop 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 and non-proliferation issues; and emergency planning zones (EPZ).
Supply Chain
The Group’s mission is to enable a robust, competitive and adaptive supply chain in support of all phases of a nuclear power plant’s life cycle: design, construction, commissioning, operation and decommissioning.
Activities include: monitoring and identifying market trends; sharing of best practice for supply chain strategies; developing industry guidance through analysing methodologies for cost-competitive, consistent and efficient plant construction; and encourages the development of supportive mechanisms for product quality assurance and continuous performance improvement.
The group supports the development of the biennial Supply Chain Outlook Report which consolidates key data, analysis and recommendations in specific and cross-cutting areas where supply chain considerations should be factored. It provides a market-oriented review of the opportunities and challenges for nuclear power plants and their supply chain. Synergies with other Association groups and international stakeholders are promoted through subgroup activities on a wide range of supply chain topics, from nuclear plant and major supply chain programme deployments, localization and value chain, to small modular reactor industrialization, quality culture and industrial innovation.
The Group exchanges regularly with international stakeholders on industrial developments including with the Multinational Design Evaluation Programme’s (MDEP’s) Vendor Inspection Coordination Working Group (VICWG), IAEA Supply Chain Management activities, World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO), FORATOM’s Supply Chain Optimisation group and Nuclear Quality Standard Association (NQSA) activities including ISO19443 roll-out and efforts towards an industry controlled certification scheme.
In recent years, additional reports have included Lesson-learning in Nuclear Construction Projects and Countering Counterfeit, Fraudulent and Suspect Items in the Nuclear Supply Chain.
Capacity Optimization
Co-Chairs: Mike Baron (Global Nuclear Associates) and Abderrahim Al Mazouzi (EDF)
Staff Director: Ronan Tanguy
The Group was set up as a forum for discussing means by which nuclear power plant operators worldwide can improve the performance of their plants in areas such as maintenance and availability. Its recent focus, prompted by the average age of the global fleet reaching over 30 years, has been in the area of long-term operations (LTO). The LTO Task Force monitors existing work performed by WANO, NEA and IAEA in this field, and and has produced a technical position paper to support to support outreach to policy makers regarding the feasibility and importance of continued operation of the existing fleet. The Task Force will also be a forum for industry, including vendors and utilities, to share leading practice in this field.
Waste Management and Decommissioning
Chair: Mike Pieraccini (EDF)
Staff Director:
Aaron Erim
The Group monitors trends in waste management strategies on both the international and local level, and seeks to establish a consensus for a more effective system of nuclear waste management and 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 with regard to multinational repositories.
In 2019, the Working Group published a
methodological guide for managing waste from decommissioning. The guide covers various strategic, technical and economic aspects of nuclear waste management. The conclusions of this report are actively promoted internationally through conferences and technical papers to which the WM&D group members are involved with.
The Group is regularly represented and actively contributes to various international organisations and technical committee 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, the NEA’s Working Party on Deep Geological Repositories and Nuclear Liability (WPDGR) or the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) report.
Cross-Cutting Working Groups
Radiological Protection
Chair: Marcel Lips (Kernkraftwerk Goesgen-Daeniken AG)
Deputy Chairs: Josip Zic (McMaster University)
Staff Director: Sameh Melhem
The Group advocates scientifically-based policies and practices supported by industry experience to provide sufficient protection to the worker, public and the environment. It channels the global industry’s voice on radiological protection (RP) questions, as it interfaces with institutions, such as the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) and the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Radiation Safety Standards Committee (RASSC).
The Group has developed an action plan for current and future activities throughout 2021 and beyond. These activities include involvement in IAEA RP-related committees and guidance document processes, ICRP report reviews, and participation in other conferences.
The Group will continue to engage with Radiation Protection professionals and international institutions in 2021 through the presentation of technical subjects at the 15th International Congress of the International Radiation Protection Association on the risks associated with low doses of ionising radiation and on the recent revisions of dose quantities. The RPWG will also continue to promote the position of the nuclear industry on some of the most discussed topics within the Radiation Protection community through the publication of position and technical papers.
Law
Chair: Chris White (Urenco)
Deputy Chair: Elina Teplinsky (Pillsbury)
Staff Director:
Philippe Costes
This Group was established with a mandate to raise 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 issues and development. The Group also liaises with other Working Groups and assists when necessary on ways to respond to specific legal challenges. It has developed mutually beneficial relationships with the legal offices of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) as well as with other relevant stakeholders.
The Group has focused in recent meetings on examining the consequences of ‘Brexit’ for the nuclear industry, developments in global nuclear liability and insurance, as well as issues in nuclear new build.
The Group will continue to be a forum for the exchange of information on contemporary legal topics, including the impact of nuclear cooperation agreements on the nuclear industry. It will forge greater connections with other Groups and cooperate on subjects of mutual interest such as multi-national repositories.
Economics
Chair: Milton Caplan (MZ Consulting)
This Group’s focus is on developing a better understanding of the economics and the capital costs of nuclear plants, notably new plants in both developed or developing countries. It also examines the competitiveness of nuclear energy in the overall generating mix.
With the objective of providing key inputs to the Harmony programme the Group will examine:
Nuclear in an electric system – contribution and cost-effectiveness compared to other low-carbon electricity generation;
Comparison of low-carbon electricity generation in terms of socio-economic benefits and life-cycle analyses;
Future changes that will have an impact on electricity systems and markets, such as costs of storage, load-following, demand-side management, clean gas and financing and structuring of NPP projects.
Security
Chair: Robert Rodger (UK National Nuclear Laboratory)
Deputy Chair: Sam Stephens (Jacobs)
The Group shares expertise and good practice in the field of nuclear security. It establishes the industry view on nuclear security matters with international stakeholders. It supports the Association’s efforts to foster public confidence in the nuclear industry in the areas of security and the securing of materials under industry control.
The Group supports the role of the IAEA in marshalling international cooperation in nuclear security and in publishing consensus recommendations which reflect current best practice. The Group is represented on the Nuclear Security Guidance Committee, which is responsible for developing IAEA recommendations on security.
The Group is developing positions and recommendations on number of topics including: mitigating insider threats; cybersecurity; the security of Small Modular Reactors; the safety-security interface and culture; security oversight as part of good corporate governance; and maintaining security within the supply chain.
Other activities include: facilitating industry collaboration within international security related events and conferences; supporting development of professional development and capacity building in nuclear security; and collaborating with international stakeholders on common projects.
Members can access the recently developed Security Briefs within the members site.
Advisory Groups
Advisory Panel
Chair: Tim Gitzel (Cameco)
Deputy Chair: Clark Beyer (Global Fuel Solutions)
Staff Director:
Virginie Ryan-Taix
The Advisory Panel has a consultative function. It seeks to identify challenges facing the global nuclear industry, opportunities to advance its position in policy arenas, and ways to improve the public acceptance of nuclear energy. It provide recommendations on how the World Nuclear Association should position itself in addressing these challenges.
Communication Group
Chair: Diane Hughes, NuScale Power
Deputy Chair: Rebecca Astles, Urenco
Staff Director:
Kristina Valen
The Communication Group shares new ideas and best practice for communication activities that help disseminate key messages to the wider industry and beyond. The group also provides support for specific projects identified as priorities for the Association. Its members are communication experts from member companies and invited representatives from other nuclear energy associations.
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