Fuel Report | Sustainable Used Fuel Management | Transport | Security of the International Fuel Cycle | Fuel Cycle Members' Forum | CORDEL | Capacity Optimization | Supply Chain | Waste Management & Decomm | Radiological Protection | Law | Economics | Nuclear Innovation Roadmap - NI2050 | Advisory Panel | Communication Group
World Nuclear Association member representatives can view all Working Group reports, documents, presentations and contact lists on the members website.
Fuel Cycle Working Groups
Fuel Report
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. The latest edition of the report was published in September 2017 and looks at scenarios to 2035. The Fuel Report Work Group is the forum through which member experts cooperate on the report. It is broken down into six sub-groups, which focus on different areas of the fuel cycle and have ownership of different chapters.
Demand Sub-Group
Co-Chairs: Carole Marot (EDF) and Brandon Munro (Bannerman Resources)
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.
Primary Uranium Supply Sub-GroupChair: Frank Hahne (Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth)
Discusses classification of existing mines, projects under development, and anticipated uranium supply.
Chair: Nikko Collida (ConverDyn)
Analysis future conversion supply capacities versus demand in this concentrated segment of the fuel cycle.
Enrichment Sub-Group
Chair: Francisco Tarin (Enusa)
Focuses on key questions affecting this area of the fuel cycle including: supply-demand imbalance, underfeeding, trade issues.
Chair: Rolf Kwasny (Consultant)
Examines key trends and the contributions of various sources of secondary supplies. Information on secondary supplies is woven throughout the report.
Chair: Lawrence Mercier (Framatome)
Discusses this dynamic part of the fuel market, analysing future prospects and the impacts of new developments on the whole fuel cycle.
Deputy Chair: Cecile Evans (Orano) Staff Director: Shah Nawaz Ahmad
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 the experts to share good practices and major developments in used fuel management.
In 2017, the Group conducted a survey looking at used fuel management strategy, as well as technical, financial and communications issues. In June 2017, it convened a half-day session during an IAEA Technical Meeting examining the drivers for different used fuel management approaches, where the findings of its survey were presented.
In 2018, the Group will continue to represent industry at international bodies including on the Steering Committee for the IAEA's Status and Trends in Spent Fuel and Radioactive Waste Management report.
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 the IAEA’s Transport Safety Standards Committee (TRANSSC). It also enjoys close ties with the World Nuclear Transport Institute.
In 2017, the Group developed communication tools that explain why nuclear and radioactive material is transported and how risks have been successfully managed for 60 years. It also conducted research on the the insurance market for nuclear transport.
In 2018, the Group will conduct outreach to transport groups, such as carrier associations, to promote the understanding of movement of radioactive materials. It will also continue to undertake dialogue with the insurance community with a view to improving the options for transport cover.
Security of the International Fuel Cycle
Chair: Roger Brunt (Grosmont Howe Ltd) Staff Director: Greg Kaser
The mission of this Group is to promote a reliable and proliferation-resistant international nuclear fuel cycle and to support and guide the Association's engagement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and other agencies in the fields of security and non-proliferation. 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 of security. A regular topic at meetings is assessment and management of the cyber threat to the nuclear industry.
The Staff Director participated in an international conference held in Vienna on the physical protection of nuclear material and nuclear facilities in November 2017. The conference shared experience and lessons for nuclear security since the amended Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material entered into force in May 2016.
In 2018, the Group plans to renew the Association's relationship with United Nations 1540 Committee and the 'Wiesbaden process' to enhance ways for the UN to work with industry on promoting the objectives of Security Council Resolution 1540 of 2004 on preventing strategic technologies falling into the wrong hands. It will also liaise with Supply Chain Working Group on export control reform.
Fuel Cycle Members' Forum
Chair: Tim McGraw (Cameco Corporation) Staff Director: Stephen Tarlton
The Fuel Cycle Members' Forum focuses on developments in nuclear fuel and trade, typically attracting 80-90 people to its meetings. Sessions consist of reports from Working Groups in the fuel cycle area as well as formal presentations and panel discussions.
Plant Performance Working Groups
Cooperation in Reactor Design Evaluation and Licensing (CORDEL)
Chair: Vacant
Staff Director:
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 with the Multinational Design Evaluation Programme (MDEP), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), 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.
In 2018, a new strategic plan focusing on both new-build and operating aspects of nuclear power plants will be issued to cover the period 2018-2022. A revision of the memorandum understanding made with ENISS is also foreseen.
Following the first regional workshop on Technical and Regulatory Issues Facing Nuclear Power Plants organised by CORDEL in cooperation with the Long Term Operations Task Force in June 2016 in Chicago, USA and the second one in October 2016, in Moscow, Russia, the third regional workshop will be held in Shanghai, China in May 2018.
The key achievements of the various CORDEL Task Forces in 2017, as well as planned tasks, are described below.
Mechnical Codes and Standards Task Force
Chair: Nawal Prinja (Wood)
IAEA Nuclear Safety Standards Task Force
Chair: Frank Lignini (Framatome)
The Capacity Optimization Working Group identifies means by which nuclear power plant operators worldwide can improve the performance of their plants. The Group focuses on areas relevant to plant economics such as availability, reliability, flexibility and capacity. Since 2015, the Group has operated a Long Term Operation Task Force for members to share and compare international experience relating to LTO aspects of licensing engineering and asset management.
The Group supports members in monitoring and identifying market trends, promoting timely, consistent and efficient plant construction, and in communicating with stakeholders on industrial developments.
The Group reports regularly to the Multinational Design Evaluation Programme (MDEP's) Vendor Inspection Coordination Working Group and in September 2017 presented its work to the Fourth MDEP Conference on New Reactor Design Activities in London. It continues to work with the Nuclear Quality Standard Association to help ensure that the issuing of a quality management standard for the nuclear supply chain by the International Organization for Standardization meets the needs and aspirations of licensees and technology vendors.
The New Build Lesson-learning Task Force, which was set up in September 2015, presented its conclusions to an IAEA technical meeting in Vienna in August 2017 and at a conference in October organized by Constructing Excellence. A Task Force report is set to be published in early 2018.
The International Framework for Nuclear Energy Cooperation (IFNEC), a governmental grouping to share information on nuclear energy issues, established a working group to examine supply chain challenges involved in localizing manufacturing in emerging nuclear countries and invited the World Nuclear Association to its meetings in June and November.
In 2018 the Group also plans to revisit the 2015 report on Good Practice in the Compliance and Licensing of Nuclear Exports and to remain engaged with the Nuclear Suppliers Group. It will monitor and provide reactor vendor input to a European Union project to widen the procurement gateway for furnishing lower safety class components to a wider range of supplier.
This Group monitors developments and shapes industry with a view to improving the system of waste management and decommissioning. It promotes the appropriate re-use and recycling of material - and safe disposal of waste - from nuclear sites.
In 2017, a sub-group of members worked on a methodological guide for managing waste from decommissioning, the scope of which covers the strategic, technical and economic aspects of waste management. The guide is expected to be published in 2018.
In 2018, the Group will continue to cooperate with other Working Groups on topics such as radiological protection of work undertaken during decommissioning, and multinational repositories.
Cross-Cutting Working Groups
Radiological Protection
Chair: Marcel Lips (Kernkraftwerk Goesgen-Daeniken AG)
Deputy Chairs: Willie Harris (Exelon) and Chuong Pham (BHP Billiton) Staff Director: Binika Shah
The Group promotes improvements in the international system of radiological protection (RP), by developing and advocating scientifically sound positions of policy and practice supported by industry experience and perspectives. It is the industry's interface with institutions such as the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) and the IAEA's Radiation Safety Standards Committee (RASSC).
In 2017, the Group arranged a visit to the Fukushima Daiichi sit to inform industry's preparedness for emergencies, its position on transition from emergency to planned/existing exposure situations, and to better understand the extensive work taking place to decommission. In addition, a plenary session was organised with various international organisations to discuss the status and development of the system for radiological protection alongside the ICRP Symposium in October in Paris.
In 2018, the Group will review its strategy. Among the topics for this year's discussions are increased efficiency in RP, integration of environmental protection in a System of Protection and RP in decommissioning.
Deputy Chair: Chris White (Urenco) Staff Director: Philippe Costes
The Group was established with a mandate to raise awareness of the legal issues and developments affecting the global nuclear industry among 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 wit the legal offices of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) as well as the other relevant stakeholders.
In 2017, the Group examined the consequences of 'Brexit' for the nuclear industry, developments in global nuclear liability and insurance, issues in nuclear new build and, in conjunction with the World Nuclear Fuel Cycle in Toronto, focused on the Canadian nuclear legal framework.
In 2018, the Group plans to continue to be a forum for the exchange of information on contemporary legal topics, including considering the impact of nuclear cooperation agreements on the nuclear industry. In addition, the Group will continue to forge greater connections with other Working Groups and to cooperate on subjects of mutual interest.
EconomicsStaff Director: King Lee
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.
In January, along with several Board members, the Panel participated in a Harmony workshop and further discussed the issues papers, process, and stakeholder outreach activities during their April and September meetings. Other input from the Panel included reviewing key findings from a report by the New Build Lesson-Learning Task Force, due to be published early in 2018, and providing advice on a an outreach initiative to emerging nuclear countries.
The role of the Communication Group is to support the Association by identifying communication opportunities and challenges facing the industry and ways to address them. Its members also provide support to specific projects decided by the Group and help disseminate key messages to the wider industry and beyond.
In 2017, the Group worked on the final two animations of Nuclear Footprints, a campaign on the theme of nuclear technology and how it relates to the environment, health and the future. The Group initiated the idea of an advocacy campaign towards emerging nuclear countries, which led to the organisation of the World Nuclear Spotlight Indonesia event in February 2018. Members also provided feedback on the Talking Points brochure, a collection of high-level positions on nuclear energy published in September 2017. Other activities of the Communication Group included discussions on the Swiss referendum and the Korean situation, and reaching out to other associations such as the Nuclear Energy Institute and Foratom, to share communication initiatives as well as the Harmony Programme.
