| EPRI Research – Not in a Vacuum
Building off the March newsletter, where we touched on EPRI’s
engagement with nuclear-related business and operational entities,
in this issue we’ll explore our engagement with nuclear-related
research entities. Active interaction with these organizations
enables EPRI to clearly delineate its areas of responsibility,
avoid duplication of effort, and identify opportunities for collaboration.
Two 2008 EPRI initiatives capture the essence of our external
engagement. EPRI interviews in late 2007 with more than 20 U.S.
nuclear power plant owners/operators revealed that more than 85%
believe plant operation beyond 60 years is not only extremely
desirable, but at least somewhat likely. On the heels of an EPRI-INL
(Idaho National Laboratory) effort documenting the strategic R&D
needed to fulfill the promise of light water reactor technology
as a near-zero emission electricity source, EPRI participated
in a joint Nuclear Regulatory Commission/Department of Energy
workshop in late February to examine research needs pertaining
to life after 60. A steering committee comprising EPRI, the Department
of Energy, INL, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the Nuclear
Energy Institute will be evaluating and prioritizing research
opportunities. EPRI is launching a “Long-Term Operation”
research program this year to maximize the use of existing nuclear
assets, focusing on nuclear plant materials, instrumentation and
information systems, and long-term asset management.
The Materials Aging Institute, founded in January by EPRI, EDF
and Tokyo Electric Power Company, concentrates nuclear and technical
expertise at research organizations and universities around the
world to examine the critical link between materials science and
power plant component performance and degradation. This critical
activity will support many broader strategic R&D goals, including
new plant deployment and the Long-Term Operation program. EPRI
will help guide research priorities, while gaining access to research
findings with global impact. EPRI has assigned a full-time researcher,
Dr. Mohamad Behravesh, to MAI on-site in France, and will be rotating
additional staff through the facility for short-term assignments.
External EPRI engagement with research organizations spans many
other technical areas and many countries.
- Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC): Although research
efforts by NRC and EPRI may be conducted for different purposes,
the underlying data and results often have common value. To
conserve resources and avoid duplication, NRC and EPRI have
agreed to cooperate in selected research and to share information
and costs related to this research where mutually beneficial.
- Nuclear Steam Supply System Owner’s Groups:
Dialogue and coordination with the PWR Owner’s Group and
the BWR Owner’s Group to establish protocols for sharing
intellectual property, to better integrate the competencies
of each research organization, and to ensure research overlap
is avoided.
- Korea Electric Power Research Institute (KEPRI):
Collaboration on selected nuclear issues, including nondestructive
evaluation and materials reliability, to capitalize on the two
organizations’ complementary technical capabilities. In
August 2007, KEPRI and EPRI signed a three-year agreement in
which EPRI will provide technical support to Korean efforts
to establish a performance demonstration system for dissimilar
metal welds.
- Idaho National Laboratory: With EPRI and other industry
partners, INL established the Center for Nuclear Fuels and Materials
Research, which focuses on the evaluation and development of
fuels and cores for light water reactors, leveraging unique
fuel analysis facilities at INL. Joint efforts also are underway
in digital instrumentation and control, nondestructive evaluation
technology, and advanced fuel cycles.
- Nuclear Fuel Industry Research (NFIR): This ERPI-led
international collaborative ensures safe and reliable use of
nuclear fuel materials and reactor core components through fundamental
understanding of in-reactor behavior. More than 50 organizations
from 14 countries have participated in NFIR.
- Cooperative IASCC Research (CIR) Program: This EPRI-managed
global research program increases technical understanding of
irradiation assisted stress corrosion cracking. Membership includes
utilities, regulators, vendors and research organizations from
the United States, France, Spain, Sweden, Belgium, and Japan.
EPRI engages many other nuclear research-related entities as
well, including the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development/Committee for Safety of Nuclear Installations, the
French Atomic Energy Agency, the CANDU Owner’s Group, and
the Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry (CRIEPI-Japan).
As nuclear research priorities shift over time, EPRI will refine
these relationships - and develop new ones - to ensure the most
effective combination of resources are applied to identify and
implement solutions. For more information on any of EPRI's external
engagement efforts, please contact me or Dave Modeen, who is responsible
for our external affairs activities.
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