RRFM 2009 Transactions - European Nuclear Society

RESEARCH REACTOR COALITIONS – SECOND YEAR PROGRESS
REPORT
IRA N. GOLDMAN 1 , PABLO ADELFANG 1 , AND DANAS RIDIKAS 2
1. Department of Nuclear Energy, 2. Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
KEVIN ALLDRED AND NIGEL MOTE
International Nuclear Enterprise Group
ABSTRACT
The IAEA, in line with its statute and mandatory responsibilities to support its
member states in the promotion of peaceful uses of nuclear energy, has an
initiative to promote the formation of coalitions of research reactor operators and
stakeholders. These networks of research reactors are conducting joint research or
other shared activities, have the potential to increase research reactor utilization
and thus to improve sustainability at the same time enhancing nuclear material
security and non-proliferation objectives.
This effort builds upon existing IAEA efforts to enhance research reactor strategic
planning, to encourage formation of research reactor networks, and to promote
regional and international cooperation between research reactors.
The paper will describe the Agency’s progress in the second year of activities to
assist in the formation of research reactor coalitions. The paper will describe the
Agency’s efforts in serving a catalytic and “match-making” role for the formation of
new the coalition relationships, and its activities in organizing various missions and
meetings for exploratory and organizational discussions on possible coalitions and
networks.
The paper presents the concrete progress that has been made during the past
year, including new coalitions in Eastern Europe, the Caribbean, Latin America and
Central Asia. These coalitions cover a wide range of activities, for example,
enhancing the regional infrastructure and capabilities for neutron sciences,
developing new supplies of medicinal radioisotopes, and expanding the reach of
reactor physics training courses. The paper also outlines the path forward that has
been established for 2009 to support these coalitions as they mature and develop
toward self-sufficiency.
1. BACKGROUND
In order to continue to play a key role in the further development of peaceful uses of nuclear
energy, research reactors need to be financially sound, with adequate income for safe,
secure, and reliable facility operations. In a context of declining governmental financial
support, and the need to improve physical security and convert to LEU fuel, research
reactors are challenged to generate income to offset increasing operational costs.
Reactors operating at low utilization levels have difficulty providing the service availability
and reliability demanded by many potential users and customers, which creates a significant
obstacle to increasing utilization. Many research reactors have limited access to potential
customers for their services and are not familiar with the business planning concepts needed
to secure additional commercial revenues or international program funding. This not only
results in reduced income for the facilities involved, but sometimes also in research reactor
services priced below full cost, preventing recovery of back-end costs and creating
unsustainable market norms.
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