A collaborative commitment to innovation is crucial to maximizing the contribution of the global nuclear power reactor fleet to the clean energy transition. This was the key message at the 10th Nuclear Operators’ Forum, held as an online event alongside the 64th IAEA General Conference today.
Opening the event, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said the nuclear industry has identified an urgent need to overcome barriers to sustaining the world’s 391.7 GW(e) of operating nuclear capacity, comprising a fleet of 442 operating power reactors. “Sustaining the fleet through innovation requires that management set out a clear vision and create an environment for success,” Mr Grossi said.
Panelists at the virtual forum, attended by 122 delegates, discussed challenges and solutions for ensuring innovation to advance the fleet’s contribution to a stable, non-polluting, low emission electrical grid.
This year’s Operators’ Forum continues from the 2019 Innovation for the Future of Nuclear Energy — A Global Forum, an initiative to identify and prioritize innovative technologies and processes most critical to sustaining and advancing nuclear power. Some of these innovations include: digital twinning (creating a virtual model of a real-life process) to improve performance and to reduce costs; advanced manufacturing, such as 3D printing, to address supply chain challenges; machine learning using huge volumes of already available data, or ‘big data’, to optimize maintenance; and innovative frameworks for information exchange, data sharing on research and development, operations and maintenance. The Global Forum continues to focus on accelerating the deployment of innovative solutions to address the most urgent challenges facing the sustainability of operating nuclear power plants.
“Many innovations are already happening,” said Ed Bradley, Team Leader for Nuclear Power Plant Operation and Engineering Support at the IAEA. “In Canada, for example, augmented reality, drones and laser-based imagery are saving time, reducing costs and allowing work to progress despite the ongoing pandemic,” Bradley said. “Realtime tracking and remote monitoring are allowing countries like China to improve work process efficiencies. And in the United States, broad collaboration across the industry continues to deliver tangible benefits to operators, which helps to ensure nuclear power delivers on its original, clean energy promise.”
