Chair(s): | Secretary: |
Michel BERTHELEMY (michel.berthelemy@oecd-nea.org) |
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Member(s): | All NEA member countries* | ||
Russia (Suspended*) | |||
*Russian Federation suspended pursuant to a decision of the OECD Council. | |||
EU participation: |
The European Union (EU) takes part in the work of the NEA, in accordance with the NEA Statute and the Supplementary Protocol to the Convention on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. | ||
Observer(s)(International Organisation): |
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) By agreement | ||
Date of creation: | 01 May 2023 | ||
End of mandate: | 31 December 2025 |
Mandate (Document reference):
Mandate (Document extract):
Extract of document NEA/NDC(2023)10/REV1
Background
The Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) has published and contributed to several reports and initiatives on the topic of small modular reactors (SMRs) in recent years, which considered to various extents questions about the economics of SMRs, including:
In the context of the abovementioned background information, to further the understanding of the cost and economics of the deployment of SMRs, the NTE Working Group on Small Modular Reactor Economics (SMR-ECON) is created to directly contribute to NDC’s work in the area of SMR economics, in particular related to outputs 9.2.3 of the NDC Program of Work (PoW) for years 2023-2024, i.e. “Cost and Economics in SMR Deployment”.
Mandate
The SMR-ECON will study the cost and economics of the deployment of SMRs in line with the NDC Programme of Work (PoW).
Scope and Objectives
The SMR-ECON will:
Working methods
The SMR-ECON will meet as often as needed during the mandate period. Some meetings may be held virtually, at the discretion of the Chair and the NEA Secretariat.
All reports, publications and products of the SMR-ECON will be submitted to the NDC for approval prior to release.
The SMR-ECON will report to the NDC on its progress and activities as requested, and at least on an annual basis.
SMR-ECON reports, publications and/or products may be reviewed by the NDC Working Party on Nuclear Energy Economics (WPNE) on an ad hoc basis.
Membership
The SMR-ECON will include a diverse range of experts with experience in the area of the economics and deployment of SMRs from government bodies, industry, research institutions and academia.
Interactions
The SMR-ECON will engage with relevant experts and organisations from the nuclear sector, as well as experts from other industries that can contribute to case studies on the opportunities and challenges of factory-based construction.
The SMR-ECON will interface other NEA bodies, especially with the Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI) Expert Group on SMR (EGSMR), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Coordinated Research Project (CRP) on the economic appraisal of Small Modular Reactor Projects (I12007) and the Generation IV International Forum (GIF) Economic Modelling Working Group (EMWG).
Engagement with industry will also take place through the NEA Nuclear Industry Engagement Set (NIES) dedicated to SMR and Generation IV Developers.
Deliverables
The SMR-ECON will support the publication of a standard report combining;
This report will be completed before the end of 2024.
The SMR-ECON will organize relevant events (e.g. workshops) as necessary and reasonable within the available resources to collect the necessary evidence to fulfil its mandate.