The partnership between University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) and Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation (USNC) has secured a pair of regulatory outcomes that contribute directly to project success and represent a significant step forward for advanced nuclear in general.
An issue faced by many designers of advanced reactors is that current Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regulations and design criteria are quite specific to the currently operating fleet of large light water reactors. Many of these have been noted as either inapplicable or otherwise overly cumbersome for advanced reactors. UIUC and USNC are partnering in effort to deploy a USNC Micro Modular Reactor (MMRTM) at the UIUC campus as a research reactor. As part of pre-application engagement, UIUC has submitted several topical reports. Once approved, the NRC issues Safety Evaluations (SE) which enable the use of the reports in future applications.
There are many regulations contained in Title 10, Chapter I, of the Code of Federal Regulation (CFR) which represent binding requirements on any holders of NRC licenses to operate nuclear facilities. Significant regulatory uncertainty for prospective licensees arises from the specificity of these regulations to large light water reactor technology. Beginning in December 2022, UIUC and USNC have been engaging with the NRC to relieve this uncertainty. On July 25, 2024, the NRC issued a SE affirming that the screening of regulations by the partnership was found to be acceptable. The result is a well-documented discussion of how NRC regulations apply to the USNC MMR reactor that can be directly applied in forthcoming applications. Moreover, the regulatory clarity provided here will streamline future MMR, and indeed other high temperature gas-cooled reactors, deployments.
Further – and also on July 25, 2024 – UIUC and USNC received a second key SE for the topical report entitled “University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign High Temperature Gas-cooled Research Reactor: Micro Modular Reactor (MMRTM) Principal Design Criteria.” Principal Design Criteria (PDC) represent a further area of potential regulatory uncertainty in how the NRC determines that a design can achieve adequate protection of the public. With this additional SE, a clear path forward is established for MMR deployments.
These timely approvals by the NRC represent significant milestones for USNC and UIUC. Application of the approved MMR PDCs will provide assurance that USNC’s design process satisfies the NRC’s rigorous regulatory requirements and reduces risk in subsequent license applications.
For more info on the UIUC Microreactor Demo Project, visit https://npre.illinois.edu/about/illinois-microreactor-project. For more information on the MMR, visit https://www.usnc.com/mmr/. For more information on the regulatory outcomes achieved by this project, visit https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/advanced/who-were-working-with/licensing-activities/pre-application-activities/university-of-illinois-at-urbana-champaign.html