The nuclear community is well-aware that the harmonisation of international standards and requirements wherever possible, as well as the possible harmonisation of licensing processes is essential to ease the safe and effective deployment of small modular reactors (SMRs) and advanced technologies. Using the opportunity offered by the pre-licensing phase, the aim is to increase the international collaboration, to establish common positions on technical and safety issues, and to anticipate as much as possible the harmonisation of licensing process for the innovative technologies.

The activities of the HARMONISE project (Towards harmonisation in licensing of future nuclear power technologies in Europe) aim to pave the way towards harmonisation of approaches to effective licensing of innovative fissions and fusion power plants.  

The project intends to have as stakeholders, representatives of different international organizations and relevant projects, as well as representatives of the industry, non-nuclear community, who will actively participate as members of the stakeholder network. Their responsiveness, pro-active and collaborative attitude during the implementation of the project will be needed to achieve a high quality for the project outcomes. Additional stakeholders are expected to be recognized in EURATOM funded projects with a focus on the safety of advanced nuclear reactors. Efforts will be made to enrich the stakeholder network with key players (Industry/Regulatory Authorities/Research organizations) from non-nuclear fields that are subjected to regulated safety practices (e.g., aviation, pharmaceutical, medical).

As leaders of the task for stakeholder interactions and of related work package, the Institute for Nuclear Research (RATEN ICN, Romania) and Jožef Stefan Institute (JSI, Slovenia) are responsible with providing the frame for interactions. 

The stakeholders will be informed about the objectives and progress of the HARMONISE during the workshops, which are planned to be organized every six months. The workshops format will be chosen with the aim to promote a constructive dialogue among all participants. In agreement with the stakeholders, the best strategy for interactions will be established and implemented.

The first workshop of the HARMONISE project took place as a virtual event on 22 November 2022. The event was attended by 50 participants from 30 organizations indicating the large interest of a diverse group of stakeholders in the project activities and findings. To facilitate the first interaction with the stakeholders, a questionnaire was prepared and sent together with the invitation in order to know the interests in project activities.

The next workshop is scheduled to take place in Cejle, Slovenia in June (20-21) 2023, and will be devoted to the technical presentations by participants of HARMONISE, ECC-SMART and ELSMOR projects, which will be enriched by insight from invited guests, active in international organizations dealing with nuclear and non-nuclear safety cases and regulations.

The workshop on the Safety of Small Modular, Advanced and Fusion Reactors joins the European and international efforts to promote, sustain and increase the stakeholder’s awareness on the on-going efforts to develop strong safety cases for small modular, advanced and fusion reactors.