The 4th Symposium on US-Japan Nuclear Energy Research Cooperation

The participants of the U.S. side included officials of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), experts from U.S. National Laboratories as well as from the U.S. industry; from the Japanese side, those included government officials from the Japanese Embassy in Washington, D.C., the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), as well as experts in the relevant Japanese electric utilities and suppliers stationed in Washington D.C., in addition to JAEA senior management and experts in the relevant areas. The webinar gathered, albeit remotely, 139 participants in total.

At the outset, Mr. KODAMA Toshio, President, JAEA（CV）, expressed his gratitude to all those who contributed to the preparation of the symposium, which was conducted in a webinar format for the first time. He also stressed the importance of the role of nuclear energy in the context of the ongoing international decarbonization trend and expressed his expectation for further promoting cooperation between Japan and the U.S. in areas such as advanced reactor R&D and demonstration.

Amb. TSUKADA Tamaki, Minister Plenipotentiary and Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Japan（CV）, congratulated the organizers for having a large number of attendees in a webinar format amid COVID-19. He noted that the Advanced Research Demonstration Program (ARDP) and the Versatile Test Reactor (VTR) Program have made great progress in terms of the involvement of the private sector. He expressed his hope for even closer cooperation between Japan and the U.S., while recalling the next March will be the tenth anniversary of TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Accident.

Dr. Rita Baranwal, Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy, DOE（CV）, referred to Small Module Reactors (SMR) and Advanced Reactors as research areas of particular focus in recent years among the extensive cooperation areas between Japan and the U.S. such as nuclear safety, decommissioning and waste management. She also mentioned that the incumbent U.S. administration remains committed to promoting nuclear energy and introduced programs of ARDP and VTR as recent examples of the developments in the advanced reactor field.

Keynote addresses were delivered by Christopher T. Hanson, NRC（CV）, Mr. MATSUURA Shigekazu, Director, Atomic Energy Division, Research and Development Bureau, MEXT（CV, Presentation） and Mr. KIHARA Shinichi, Deputy Commissioner for International Affairs, ANRE/METI（CV, Presentation）.

Mr. Hanson shared his keen interest in the partnership of Japan and the U.S. by enumerating longstanding mutual cooperation in the fields of nuclear safety nuclear security including human resource exchange and the cooperation of NRC for the launch of the Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) program by Nuclear Regulation Authority of Japan after TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Accident. He also reported on preparations for effective and efficient licensing activities of advanced reactors as NRC’s activities on advanced reactor safety.

Mr. Matsuura reflected the severe environment surrounding nuclear energy in Japan and, in contrast to such environment, the recognition of the importance of the role which nuclear energy plays in the international decarbonization trend today. He then stated that Japan is ready to provide knowledge and technology on advanced reactors, accumulated through R&D on sodium-cooled fast reactors (SFR) and High Temperature engineering Test Reactor (HTTR), in the future bilateral nuclear energy cooperation between Japan and the U.S. Furthermore, he noted that continuing R&D for the future is an urgent challenge and it is crucial to balance this with the steady execution of decommissioning.

Mr. Kihara highlighted the expected role of nuclear energy that the 5th Strategic Energy Plan specifies and six potential needs based on that role. He then outlined Nuclear Energy X Innovation Promotion (NEXIP) Initiative as the policy of nuclear innovation. He also overviewed international cooperation on some advanced nuclear reactor technology development programs including NEXIP and identified the area of technology JAEA is expected to provide for the projects.

A panel discussion on “Advanced Reactor Technology Research and Development at the Stage of its Demonstration” followed the keynote addresses by Hon. William F. Martin, former Deputy Secretary of Energy（CV）, who moderated the discussion.

Dr. Ho Nieh, Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, NRC（CV, Presentation）, stated that NRC has been carrying out its duties for the safe operation of nuclear facilities and further referred to the strategic policy for the safe installation and deployment of advanced reactors such as the combined license (COL) and application of new regulatory framework as 10 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 53, etc.

Next followed Dr. Ashley Finan, Director, National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC) （CV, Presentation）, which was newly established in Idaho National Laboratory (INL) last August. Dr. Finan introduced ARDP that INL implements as DOE project at NRIC. She noted that high-level milestones for three years are set up for two goals by 2025: One is to realize the demonstration of at least two advanced reactors; and the other is to prepare DOE’s national laboratories for technological innovation and the demonstration test. She also attached the importance of the complementary support NRIC provides to the nuclear industry together with Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN), stating that NRIC had completed the renovation of EBR-II which had been operating in INL for 30 years since 1964 and that the pre-conceptual design of the test bed for the demonstration test had also been finalized in September 2020. Additionally, Dr. Finan briefly explained two projects, namely, the MISTEC which is Molten Salt Thermophysics Examination Capability (MSTEC) and MARVEL, Micro Reactor Applications Research, Demonstration and Evaluation.

Dr. KUNITOMI Kazuhiko, Deputy Director General, Sector of Fast Reactor and Advanced Reactor Research and Development, JAEA（CV , Presentation）, overviewed R&D conducted by JAEA on high-temperature gas-cooled reactor and explained the critical role this type of reactor plays in terms of addressing climate change challenges in Japan. He also noted that the completion of the safety review for the HTTR, which is a prerequisite to restart the reactor, had been decided in September by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission of Japan and invited U.S. to participate in advanced R&D of high-temperature gas-cooled reactors combined with hydrogen production system.

Dr. Jordi Roglans-Ribas, VTR Deputy Project Manager, ANL（CV, Presentation）, introduced VTR program advanced by DOE. He explained DOE had set four milestones to construct the reactor with fast neutron spectrum, the capability which the U.S. does not currently possess by 2026. In the course of describing those steps, he presented on the expected parameter of neutron flux (4 x 1015 n/cm2-s), conceptual drawing and a core design plan for multi-purpose experiments. He also noted that under the leadership of INL, 19 universities, 10 industry partners and 6 national laboratories are working together on the program. Dr. KAMIDE Hideki, Deputy Director General, Sector of Fast Reactor and Advanced Reactor Research and Development, JAEA（CV , Presentation）, updated the current status of SFR development at JAEA by demonstrating R&D of irradiation tests at JOYO or other experimental facilities. He introduced the development status of Advanced Reactor Knowledge- and AI-aided Design Integration Approach (ARKADIA) system to support nuclear innovation generally and more specifically its application to the fast reactors as well. He emphasized the importance of joint R&D with the U.S. on SFR in the future.

These presentations were followed by a lively exchange of ideas, focusing on the implications of U.S. elections on the advanced reactor programs in the U.S. and the manner in which JAEA’s knowledge of JOYO and MONJU could be applied to VTR constructions in the U.S., as a part of the bilateral cooperation.

Mr. Paul Dickman, Senior Policy Fellow, ANL（CV）wrapped up the symposium, stating that it is extraordinary challenging for Japan to achieve a goal of reducing CO2 emissions by 2050 and that the role of nuclear energy is crucial for it. He stressed that the innovation exploring the uses other than power generation is essential for nuclear energy to play a role in decarbonization. He also mentioned that sharing of technology and facilities through international cooperation is the key for such purposes, illustrating the use of Transient Reactor Test Facility (TREAT) as a good example and that the fact that the reactor type selected by ARDP turns out the same as what JAEA has been developing indicates potential cooperation in this field along with the importance of training the next generation of human resources.

The symposium was concluded by Mr. ITO Yoichi, Executive Vice President, JAEA（CV）, expressing his gratitude to the participants for attending the webinar. He shared the expectation for fostering partnership in a wide range of fields, especially in the field of nuclear energy through the discussion at the symposium and cooperation between Japan and the U.S. in the future.

While this was the first symposium organized remotely in a webinar format, there was intensive discussion held based on the latest developments in Japan and the U.S. with key experts in the nuclear R&D fields from Japan and the U.S. Indeed, the symposium gathered a larger number of participants than ever before. For its part, JAEA will take full advantage of various opportunities to expand our networking with the U.S. while taking COVID-19 impacts into account.

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