The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) led a key side event during last week’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) General Conference exploring international collaboration on design assessment for small modular reactors (SMRs).
The session was facilitated by representatives of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and included contributions from the Environment Agency, US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC).
It highlighted how UK regulators work with their international counterparts to assess SMRs and other advanced reactor designs as part of the generic design assessment (GDA) process.
The packed event was opened by Corinne Kitsell OBE, the UK Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the IAEA and Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO). A panel discussion was led by Diego Lisbona, ONR’s Head of Regulation for Advanced Nuclear Technologies and Early Engagement, who highlighted ONR’s commitment to learning from international experience and the value of the insights provided by the ongoing independent Nuclear Regulatory Taskforce.
Diego emphasised how the UK’s goal-setting regulatory framework provides an environment that is open to innovation, enabling both new thinking and harmonisation of standards and practices across jurisdictions. He also highlighted ONR’s early engagement process, developed and launched in 2024 with support from DESNZ, and how this acts a key mechanism for early dialogue with vendors and developers, as well as taking advantage of opportunities for international collaboration.
As close partners in regulating the UK nuclear industry, ONR and the Environment Agency reflected on the value of guiding each other’s regulatory reviews while maintaining independence. This collaborative approach has supported consistency in designs, project scopes and milestones, accelerating work such as the Step 2 assessments of GE-Hitachi BWRX-300 and Holtec SMR-300.
Finally, ONR reaffirmed its support for the SMR Regulators Forum and the IAEA’s Nuclear Harmonisation Standards Initiative (NHSI), which is developing frameworks for assessments and collaborative reviews informed by the experiences of ONR, US NRC and CNSC, which other member states including embarking countries can use.
Through the IAEA General Conference, representatives of ONR including Mike Finnerty, ONR’s Chief Executive and Chief Nuclear Inspector, took part in several meetings to strengthen global collaboration and harmonisation. These included a refreshed memorandum of understanding with the US NRC, which incorporated commitments to cut duplication through recognising each other’s assessments of advanced nuclear technologies while maintaining independence.
ONR also took part in a series of bilateral meetings with international counterparts on key topics related to the future of nuclear regulation, including the Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Poland's National Atomic Energy Agency, Ukraine's State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate and Belgium's Federal Agency for Nuclear Control.
