Small modular reactors (SMRs) have the potential to offer a flexible and economical solution to today’s energy challenges. Unlike large nuclear power projects of the past, that have often been seen as expensive, complex and time-consuming, SMRs intend to use economies of scale to become economically viable and many countries have plans to build them.
However, SMR vendors face the same dilemmas experienced by large nuclear power plants. For example, while safety is a priority for any nuclear facility, its build programme must also be reasonably priced. Overengineering structures and systems and planning additional levels of redundancy is achievable but commercially very costly. Furthermore, like large nuclear power plants, SMRs must compete economically against alternative power generation models, such as gas, solar or wind. If they are not price competitive, they will not be built.
SMRs are gaining significant attention, but whilst some designs are based on proven large nuclear power plants, other advanced modular reactors lack demonstrated safety and operational reliability. The nuclear industry is therefore struggling to translate concept into reality and faces many challenges. This is where an owner’s engineer plays a crucial role.
Owner’s engineer – empowering the industry
Planning and construction of SMRs is multifaceted and complex, largely because it is unknown territory for the nuclear industry. As most SMR designs are a first-of-a-kind and exist mostly as concepts, an owner’s engineer provides vital support to safely complete projects on time and on budget. Their expertise is invaluable in guiding the SMR project owner through the complexities of these new technologies, helping to find comprehensive solutions to the challenges the industry faces.
Due to the novelty of SMRs, there are many pitfalls that may impede a project, especially in the early phases, namely licensing and commissioning. The most common challenges include complex regulatory landscapes and the management of global supply chains, as well as different design and safety philosophies in various countries.
Navigating the regulatory landscape
The nuclear licensing process requires that technologies comply with multiple safety and security regulations, which are not yet harmonised internationally. This is particularly challenging when deploying SMRs in new markets, where local regulatory frameworks, codes and standards may differ from those of the technology’s country of origin. Any non-compliance can lead to project delays, monetary penalties, reputational risk and potential loss of contracts.
SMR vendors often lack real world experience with the licensing processes in each country. For an SMR project to succeed, it is vital to understand the level of experience and expertise a country’s authorities have with nuclear new build projects, particularly the nuclear regulator.
Inexperienced authorities, or those that have not been exposed to a new build project for decades, may have a hard time setting up clear frameworks for licensing SMRs and will lack experienced personnel to assess new reactor designs. This can result in inconsistent requirements, excessive documentation, and elongated review and approval times. The owner’s engineer plays an important role as an interface to the safety authority, helping the licensee to write robust safety justifications for new designs that can be more easily processed by the authority.
Supply chain challenges
The supply chain is key to ensuring an SMR is built to the highest standards. As safety is an utmost priority, there must be no weaknesses in any part of this chain. However, few countries can deploy an SMR project that relies solely on regional suppliers, so a global supply chain is required. This brings inherent risk related to cross-border logistics, regulatory compliance, and quality assurance. While the expected build time for an SMR is significantly shorter than that for a large nuclear power plant, they still require long-term and reliable suppliers that fulfil regulatory requirements and deliver consistent quality.
As SMR owners rely on global supply chains, an owner’s engineer can help them structure these effectively. For example, they might recommend a graded approach for the supply chain, as outlined in quality standards such as ISO 19443 or ASME NQA-1. This helps to balance quality with economic aspects to enable safe and commercially feasible nuclear projects.
For projects to succeed, owners require long-term relationships with their suppliers throughout the facility’s lifecycle. An owner’s engineer also ensures that organisations within the supply chain can demonstrate their quality management system (QMS) meets specific nuclear industry requirements. For example, as nuclear safety is of the highest importance, alignment with ISO 19443 ensures additionally that a sound nuclear safety culture is in place throughout the entire nuclear supply chain. This quality management standard is specific to the nuclear industry and has recently been internationally harmonised. It is designed to improve safety and quality throughout the nuclear supply chain.
ISO 19443 is increasingly becoming a certified requirement for organisations that supply products and services important to nuclear safety (ITNS). With the growth in the commercial deployment of SMRs, alongside concerns about the growing number of counterfeit, fraudulent, and suspect (CFS) items within the supply chain, many stakeholders are encouraging companies to become ISO 19443 certified.
Proving SMR technology safety
Another key challenge is proving the technological maturity and safety of SMR designs. With many SMRs in the planning phase, but only a few in the advanced stages of construction globally, the industry faces the dilemma of trusting unproven designs that have never been built and operated. For example, calculating failure rates of a system may be challenging if it has never been operated in this way or under these conditions. This uncertainty increases the complexity of risk assessments, requiring innovative approaches to demonstrate safety.
SMRs’ small size and flexible deployment capabilities offer distinct advantages over traditional nuclear power generation, as they can be developed for a wider range of applications such as district heating or industrial power supply, replacing old coal power plants. This will see nuclear reactors coming into closer proximity with dense populations, necessitating rigorous proof of safety concepts, and therefore a design philosophy that aligns and complies with regulatory requirements from the start.
We believe the design and safety philosophy needs to align with the project. For example, US projects have historically emphasised a probabilistic safety assessment philosophy, while most European countries prioritise a deterministic approach. This can impact the selection of relevant incident and accident events when assessing the safety of a nuclear facility. An owner’s engineer will have the necessary expertise to apply a combination of both probabilistic and deterministic safety analysis. This combined approach will quantify the likelihood of consequences from potential failures and assesses the performance of safety systems, thus ensuring their functionality.
An owner’s engineer with international experience offers insight and support within the regulatory landscape. They understand an authority’s requirements and expectations, as well as national and international regulations, codes and standards relevant to a particular project. This helps to anticipate those aspects that will face additional scrutiny or resistance.
A closer look at the owner’s engineer role
As an independent advocate of the project owner, an owner’s engineer brings experience from previous projects that is transferable to SMR developments. This critical supporting role fills gaps and supplements a project owner’s resources by providing technical advisory support throughout all stages.
By taking a holistic view of a project, an owner’s engineer identifies pain points and solutions. This helps the owner make informed decisions, assume the role of an “intelligent customer” and develop organisational maturity, thereby reducing the risk of liabilities and setting the project on a path to success. An owner’s engineer also helps to optimise project costs through greater oversight of the project scope, schedule, quality, and various other aspects.
An independent owner’s engineer ensures that an SMR project moves from concept to deployment. Early engagement of an owner’s engineer is therefore crucial, as the sooner they support the project, the sooner delays and costly reworks can be avoided.
The owner’s engineer’s scope of work usually covers (but is not limited to):
Design and planning: Acting as a representative of the project owner, an owner’s engineer helps lay the project groundwork. They provide guidance by defining the owner’s scope, conduct feasibility studies, review designs, evaluate technology and site suitability, and assess compliance with relevant codes and standards to mitigate risks early. The role includes optioneering as well as evaluating design changes or deviations to ensure proper documentation and implementation without compromising safety, quality or schedule. An owner’s engineer facilitates the permitting and licensing process by supporting the preparation of documentation and engaging with regulatory authorities to ensure compliance.
Manufacturing: The owner’s engineer plays a critical role in the development of quality assurance and control, and in the oversight of manufacturing equipment. They can play a vital part in assessing suppliers and overseeing the supply chain. This includes conducting audits and inspections to ensure that suppliers adhere to applicable codes, standards, technical specifications, and quality requirements. By streamlining these processes, the owner’s engineer mitigates risks of delays or non-compliance.
Construction and commissioning: Services can include the supervision of EPC contractors by means of quality checks and on-site oversight, ensuring adherence to specifications, regulations, and health and safety standards. During commissioning, the owner’s engineer supports the development and execution plans, including system testing and integration of systems to ensure operational readiness. An experienced owner’s engineer can develop optimised inspection and maintenance programmes for operation. Through diligent oversight, the owner’s engineer helps manage risks and maintain schedules.
The RoPower SMR project
RoPower Nuclear was founded in 2022 by Societatea Nationala Nuclearelectrica SA (SNN) and Nova Power & Gas SRL to promote the development and implementation of a first-of-a-kind SMR in Romania. Its initial project will be built on the site of a decommissioned coal-fired power plant in Doicesti, 90 km away from Bucharest.
RoPower appointed TÜV SÜD as the Doicesti project owner’s engineer, focusing on engineering support, design acceptance, and compliance with national and international nuclear standards. TÜV SÜD services include the verification of technical specifications for major equipment, the implementation of quality assurance and quality control programmes against ASME specifications, and supply chain oversight and assistance in assessing the maturity of the selected technology and in fulfilling the regulatory requirements of Romanian authorities.
The Doicesti project is an excellent example of the importance of the owner’s engineer in managing the complexities of supply chains for SMR projects. While this project will be built in the EU, it uses a technology vendor in the USA and an international supply chain that may include manufacturers in multiple regions. As owner’s engineer, TÜV SÜD must manage the wide variety of different standards, codes, regulations, and safety philosophies, so that the outputs generated during the execution of the SMR project are harmonised and compliant with Romanian nuclear regulatory requirements and the EU regulatory framework.
Empowering SMR projects
Owner’s engineers provide the nuclear industry with independent expertise that can be seamlessly transferred into SMR projects. By bridging knowledge gaps, clarifying licensing processes, and ensuring compliance with international standards, they can reduce project risks and costs. Their experience with new technologies and diverse regulatory landscapes enables project owners to make informed decisions and successfully navigate challenges like global supply chains, varying country-specific safety philosophies, and harmonisation of codes and standards. From design to operation, owner’s engineers help to ensure that SMR projects are developed safely, on time and within budget.
