The First SASPAM-SA Open Workshop, officially titled “International Workshop on SMR Safety for a Sustainable Short-term Deployment”, was held on October 17–18, 2024, at the IRSN headquarters in Fontenay-aux-Roses, Paris, France. Organized under the SASPAM-SA Euratom project, the event marked a significant step forward in the collaborative efforts to ensure the safe deployment of Light Water Small Modular Reactors (LW-SMRs) in Europe and beyond.

Bringing together more than 60 experts from 14 countries, the workshop created a dynamic platform for researchers, regulators, and industry stakeholders to discuss recent advancements, identify remaining knowledge gaps, and define short-term R&D priorities necessary to support SMR licensing.

Key Topics of the Workshop

The agenda covered a broad spectrum of issues critical to LW-SMR safety, including:

  • Accident scenarios and associated phenomenology in LW-SMRs.

  • Predictive capabilities of safety computer codes under transient conditions.

  • Relevance of current experimental databases to steady-state and transient LW-SMR operation.

  • Evaluation of Severe Accident (SA) mitigation strategies, such as In-Vessel Melt Retention (IVMR) and hydrogen management.

  • Modeling guidelines and best practices for LW-SMR safety analysis.

  • Emergency Planning Zone (EPZ) determination tools and their applicability to SMRs.

  • High-fidelity analysis tools and their role in safety evaluations.

  • Integration of LW-SMRs within hybrid energy systems and associated safety considerations.

  • The role of standardization in advancing nuclear safety research for SMRs.

Workshop Outcomes & Proceedings

The workshop succeeded in highlighting critical knowledge gaps and setting out a roadmap for targeted short-term research aimed at accelerating the licensing process for SMRs. It underscored the need for international cooperation, robust modeling practices, and the modernization of safety analysis tools tailored to the unique features of LW-SMRs.

Read the complete proceedings of the workshop here.

The full set of workshop presentations is now available online for public viewing:
🔗 SASPAM-SA Open Workshop Presentations