Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) – MDEP publishes workshop report on safety of high temperature gas-cooled reactors

The Multinational Design Evaluation Programme (MDEP) has published the proceedings of the International Brainstorming Workshop on High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor (HTGR) Safety, which took place in March 2024.

The event convened regulatory authorities, technical experts and industry representatives from around the world, as well as from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Generation IV International Forum (GIF). Participants exchanged of views on the safety challenges and regulatory considerations associated with HTGR technologies.

The report outlines key outcomes and recommendations from the workshop, including:

• benchmarking approaches for verification and validation (V&V) of computational codes;
• fuel safety and qualification strategies;
• research priorities to support HTGR development;
• probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) of first-of-a-kind (FOAK) designs;
• application of Defence-in-Depth (DiD) principles tailored to HTGRs;
• selection and qualification of materials for high-temperature reactor systems; and
• considerations for adapting regulatory frameworks to address HTGR-specific safety issues

Read the report here.