NRI Annual Review 2023 - Flipbook - Page 5
SMR/AMR
UPDATE
By Simon Wilcock,
Senior Underwriter at NRI
Small modular reactors (SMRs)
and the more technologically
developed advanced modular
reactors (AMRs) offer sources
of power and heat with lower
output and initial capital
investment than conventional
nuclear reactors, as well as
greater scalability and siting
flexibility for locations unable to
accommodate larger reactors.
Some SMRs and AMRs will use fuels with
greater inherent safety features, especially
related to the prevention of radiological
releases in all foreseeable fault conditions.
This greater inherent safety may lead to
a review of regulatory liability limits by
national and international statutory bodies.
NRI is supporting this work and is keen
to see future agreement of new limits
reflecting any reduction in exposure.
On successful completion of the Generic
Design Assessment (GDA) of any new
technology by nuclear regulators,
operators need to submit a separate
licence application for each site at which
they plan to deploy SMRs/AMRs. RollsRoyce is currently the only company to
have submitted an SMR design for GDA.
In the UK, to comply with the Radiation
(Emergency Preparedness and Public
Information) Regulations 2019, operators
are also required to submit a hazard
evaluation and consequence assessment,
presenting conclusions to inform off-site
emergency planning. The licensee must
also produce an on-site emergency plan
where a feasible radiation emergency
exists. Following evaluation of the licence
application by the Office for Nuclear
Regulation and the Environment Agency
to identify potential risks presented by the
chosen site, operators are issued with a site
licence under the Nuclear Installations Act
1965 (as amended). Once granted, provided
there are no material changes to the
basis on which the licence was awarded,
a nuclear site licence is in force for an
indefinite period.
Elsewhere, Canada’s three main nuclear
utility companies all have projects
underway to develop SMR/AMR
applications in the country. For example,
a joint venture of Ultra Safe Nuclear
Corporation and Ontario Power Generation
will build an AMR at a site in Chalk River. In
the US, TerraPower plans to construct its
first AMR in Wyoming.
NRI has developed a coverage for SMR/
AMR projects which are assembled into
modules at off-site locations prior to being
shipped to the final site. This can provide
cover for nuclear liability and nuclear
property damage insurance, alongside
construction and project cargo coverage,
in a single policy.
Using well-proven insurance products, NRI
is able to cover these new applications and
meet the demands of a changing market.
SMR insurance coverage
Possible
fuel
delivery
Possible
fuel
loading
Handover to
commercial
operations
Manufacturing
OEM 1
OEM 2
OEM 3
OEM 4
OEM 5
Module
assembly
at
Fabrication
Yard
Module
installation
Transit
to site
Commercial
operations
on site and
start up
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