France-Japan Workshop on Nuclear R&D Co-operation （2022.10.5）

On October 5, 2022, the Paris Office of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) organised the “2022 France-Japan Workshop on Nuclear R&D Co-operation -Achievements and future developments-”. Due to the impact of COVID-19, this workshop, the fourth in total, was held after three years’ absence and with hybrid format as the first such opportunity for an event organized by the Paris Office.

More than 150 people participated in the event, both in person in Paris and on-line, including:

French side:
Commissariat à l’énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA) as co-organiser,
Institute de Radioprotection et de Sûrete Nucléaire (IRSN) as co-organiser,
Government officials of the Embassy of France in Japan,
Nuclear industry

Japanese side:
JAEA,
Government officials of the Embassy of Japan in France as event supporter,
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT),
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI),
Nuclear industry (electric utilities and suppliers, etc.) including those stationed in Paris

Opening Remarks

Mr. KOGUCHI Masanori, President, JAEA stated that as the world faces two challenges of climate change and energy security, the role of nuclear energy is indispensable in providing a stable, low-carbon energy supply. He stressed that in particular, there is a need to open up new prospects for nuclear energy, including the introduction of small modular reactors (SMRs) and advanced reactors, and non-electric power applications such as hydrogen production. Then he noted that international co-operation in R&D to ensure the sustainability of nuclear energy has become more important than ever before and that JAEA has a long-term co-operative relationship with CEA in the field of R&D of fast reactor, which is one type of the innovative reactors, the topic of the workshop. He added that discussions have just started on the possibility of new co-operation in the field of integrated energy systems. On the other topic of nuclear safety research, he mentioned the mutually beneficial co-operation between JAEA’s Sector of Nuclear Safety Research and Emergency Preparedness and the IRSN as Technical Support Organisations (TSO) to the regulatory authorities in France and Japan. He expressed his hope that discussions will be held in the future to deepen and expand co-operation to complement research in each institution through the use of related facilities.

Mr. Philippe STOHR, Director of Energy Division, CEA expressed his gratitude for having the face-to-face meeting after two years of pandemic, and mentioned that CEA and JAEA have traditionally collaborated in many fields, including advanced reactors, decommissioning and waste management, fuel cycle and safety. He also mentioned the renewal of the arrangement in December 2021 to include energy systems with compatibility with renewable energy as a new co-operation item, and stressed the need to utilise both nuclear and renewable energy to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. He expressed his expectations for an exchange of views not only on the commonalities in policy and R&D directions between the two countries but also on the differences in their situations and perspectives, as well as their backgrounds.

Mr. Cyril PINEL, Director of European and International Affairs, IRSN noted that IRSN, as the TSO for nuclear regulation in France, plays a role in providing the technical and scientific basis for decisions and activities related to nuclear safety and radiation protection, mentioning that 40% of the budget is allocated to nuclear safety and radiation protection research. He noted that the 2019 G7 Nuclear Safety and Security Group (NSSG) confirmed the importance of nuclear safety research and international co-operation for the purpose. He emphasized that this seminar aligns with this statement. He added that IRSN is going to establish in Cadarache, an experimental facility, “PASTIS”* that will demonstrate the effect of passive safety and that IRSN will continue to invest in its research facilities and training of young researchers, thereby demonstrating its commitment to maintaining a high level of technical expertise.

* PAssive Systems Thermalhydraulic Investigations for Safety

Mr. ANDO Yoshio, Minister, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Japan in France congratulated the workshop and stated that bilateral co-operation between Japan and France is wide-ranging, and the co-operation in the development of fast reactors and the decommissioning of TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (1F), for example, has always occupied an important position. He continued that Japan and France are irreplaceable partners, as evidenced by the signing of the Intergovernmental Arrangement (IGA) on Fugen spent fuel in June this year. He continued that this August, Prime Minister KISHIDA announced the acceleration of necessary review on the development of next-generation innovative reactors, etc., based on the fact that nuclear energy is indispensable for green transformation (GX) from the viewpoints of carbon neutrality, mid- to long-term economic growth and energy security. He stressed that further co-operation between Japan and France will be meaningful, given many common points the two countries share. He expressed the hope that such a face-to-face event will lead to further deepening bilateral co-operation between Japan and France when Japan would like to contribute to international efforts including decarbonization, seizing the opportunity of next year’s G7 Hiroshima Summit.

Keynote Speeches

Mr. SHIMASAKI Seiichi, Director for Nuclear Fuel Cycles and Decommissioning, Research and Development Bureau, MEXT presented Japan’s nuclear energy R&D policy and programs, as summarized below:

- The 6th Strategic Energy Plan, decided by the cabinet in October 2021, stated that “the Government will give the top priority to safety of the nuclear power and reduce dependency on the nuclear power as much as possible while expanding renewable energy.” However, awareness of the importance of nuclear energy has increased this year.

- In Japan, nuclear R&D is mainly conducted by JAEA. JAEA is preparing to resume operation of Fast Reactor “Joyo” in 2025. After the restart, it is expected to provide an irradiation field with fast neutron flux and produce radioisotopes for medical use.

- At Monju, fuel unloading from the reactor core has been completed and decommissioning is progressing as scheduled. In March this year, MEXT reported to the local government that we are considering reprocessing in France for the basic option, while keeping other options open, for the handling of the spent fuel from Monju.

- To support the decommissioning of 1F, the Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science (CLADS) was established within JAEA, and R&D is being conducted utilizing international co-operation.

- After the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011, only six research reactors have been restarted in Japan, so infrastructure for Japan’s R&D and human resource development is getting weakened. Therefore, a new research reactor that can be widely used by industry and academia is currently being designed to be built on the Monju site. As is the case in Japan, there is no experience in regulating innovative reactors, and it is necessary to deepen communication with relevant institutions to establish appropriate regulatory standards, including for research reactors such as this one. In addition, MEXT is concerned about the recent trend of university students turning away from nuclear energy, and has just started human resource development activities in co-operation with universities, industry, JAEA, and others by launching the Advanced Nuclear Education Consortium (ANEC) for the future society.

Next, Mr. UEMATSU Takeshi, Director, Office for International Nuclear Energy Cooperation, Agency for Natural Resources and Energy (ANRE), METI presented Japan’s energy and nuclear policies for GX and Japan’s strength in the supply chain, as summarized below:

<Japan’s energy and nuclear policies toward GX>

- After the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, safety regulations were strengthened, and to date, 10 reactors have been restarted. Other seven reactors have passed the safety review process, but these reactors still need to undergo further procedures before they can be restarted.

- In order to overcome the energy crisis and promote GX, we will make concrete consideration of the following issues, while listening to the opinions of relevant parties and experts, as directed by Prime Minister KISHIDA: concerted efforts to restart nuclear power plants, maximum utilization of existing nuclear power plants including the extension of operation periods on the basic premise of ensuring safety, the development and construction of next-generation innovative reactors, and the acceleration of processes for reprocessing, decommissioning, and final disposal of high-level radioactive waste.

<Japan’s strength in the supply chain>

- Japan has the capability to manufacture high-quality nuclear-related equipment by highly reliable companies, and additionally, there is an R&D basis for nuclear energy. Nuclear energy is indispensable for energy security, including stable energy supply, and for achieving carbon neutrality. To utilise nuclear energy in the future, it is necessary to maintain and strengthen the supply chain and develop human resources.

- Regarding Japan's strength in terms of supply chain for nuclear energy, Japan has a highly reliable and robust supply chain domestically, with extensive experience in the construction of nuclear reactors, including 33 BWRs and 24 PWRs, as well as fast reactors and high-temperature gas reactor. This strength also contributed to the EPR projects in France.

- Based on these capabilities, we would like to leverage Japan's strength and contribute to innovative reactor projects in other countries in the future. Japan is a treasure trove of nuclear suppliers. In promoting “France 2030”, we would like you to remember all the Japanese companies that can meet the needs for reliable nuclear equipment in terms of delivery time and quality.

<Summary>

- In the short term, we will overcome the current energy crisis in order to rebuild a stable energy supply. In the medium- to long-term, we will promote GX to ensure energy security and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, formulating solid and resilient supply chain and R&D infrastructure in co-operation with France and other like-minded countries. We will continue to make collaborative efforts between Japan and France.

- This summer, France and Europe experienced forest fires and droughts, reminding us once again that climate change is a serious problem.

- In 2021, the EU depended on Russia for 45.3% of its natural gas imports, but is now seeking to diversify energy providers after a crisis in natural gas supplies following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. EU plans to reduce by 2/3 the annual import of Russian gas by 2030, which has led to nuclear energy being high on the agenda in France. The current multi-annual energy plan (PPE), which sets targets of 40% of renewables in the electricity mix by 2030, installed capacity of nuclear power capped at 63.2 GW, and 50% of nuclear in the electricity mix by 2035 will be reassessed by 2023.

- In order to address the economic consequences of COVID-19, the French government set out its “France Relance” recovery plan with a €470 million investment in the nuclear sector, including €200 million for R&D. (This includes the construction of New Tamaris, an experimental facility for structural behavior under earthquakes, and a severe accident research facility at Cadarache.)

- In October 2021, France set 10 goals as "France 2030" and decided to invest 30 billion euros. The goals include SMR and hydrogen production. In February 2022, a new direction for nuclear energy policy was announced in a presidential speech. This speech included life-time extension of existing nuclear power plants, launch of new build program with six EPR2 and study for eight more, and SMR/Advanced Modular Reactor (AMR) program. The AMR program is intended to support start-ups with the target of introducing prototype by 2030. The government will invest €390 million in a three-staged open-call process by 2030. CEA will play a leading role in integrating SMRs in local energy hubs and large-scale hydrogen production. It will also work on the conversion of actinides using molten salt reactors (ISAC project). Nuclear energy will play an important role in complementing variable renewable energy sources, integrating energy in the region, hydrogen production, and the carbon circular economy toward a "net zero by 2050".

Session I: “Current status of the activities and significance of Japan-France co-operation”

Mr. YAMAMURA Tsukasa, Director, International Affairs Department, JAEA explained the activities of JAEA, touching upon the following topics: R&D of high-temperature gas reactors and fast reactors, that of neutron applications using JAEA facilities such as J-PARC and JRR-3, human resource development activities, promotion of R&D contributing to the response to the 1F accident, research on geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste at Horonobe and other sites, decommissioning of nuclear facilities at JAEA facilities and radioactive waste management, etc. He also pointed out that France is an important partner for JAEA's international collaboration. He mentioned that the main fields of co-operation between JAEA and CEA include fast reactor R&D, education and seminars for training purposes, information exchange and joint research in the field of decommissioning and waste management, joint research in the nuclear science field and on fuel debris from the 1F accident. He concluded by expressing his hope that co-operation will be further deepened and expanded in light of recent new nuclear developments in both countries, based on the human networks that have been cultivated through the co-operation so far.

Ms. Valerie VANDENBERGHE, Responsible for the International Relations and Communication Unit, Energy Division, CEA started her speech by stating that she would like to explore new possibilities for co-operation between France and Japan. She noted that the systems for generating energy from wind, nuclear, and other sources were complex, with different operators, networks, and output scales, and that various factors must be taken into account when developing a system to secure energy. She explained that the use of a flexible combination of renewable energy and nuclear energy is important, including a balanced combination of SMRs with local energy sources such as solar power, and hydrogen production with nuclear. She stated that the production of hydrogen, which can be used in various fields in the future, could be a new field of co-operation between CEA and JAEA.

Session II: “Japan-France co-operation in nuclear R&D: Ongoing programs and possible areas of future co-operation”

Panel-1 “CEA and JAEA Activities and French-Japanese Co-operation on New Reactors” moderated by Ms. VANDENBERGHE of CEA.

Mr. OHNO Shuji, Director, Reactor Systems Design Department, Sector of Fast Reactor and Advanced Reactor Research and Development, JAEA delivered a presentation titled "Fast Reactor and Advanced Reactor R&D Activities in JAEA".

Mr. Jean-Claude GARNIER, Program Manager of Gen- IV Reactors, CEA gave his presentation titled "Advanced Modular Reactors & Use Case", followed by a Q&A session.

Mr. OHNO explained test research and analysis code development for fast reactor development, the importance of the restart of Joyo, and ongoing French-Japanese co-operation items. He also described a project of heat utilization (hydrogen production) related R&D using HTTR, as well as the status of research on the nuclear and renewable hybrid energy systems.

Mr. GARNIER described research being conducted in France on AMR (reactor types are sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR) and molten salt reactor (MSR)). Regarding the size of AMR-SFR, he explained that the target is 400 MWth from the viewpoints of criticality and fuel cycle, manufacturability, and economic efficiency, and that the challenge is the vessel size for transportation and for MSR, to make it corrosion resistant.

During the Q&A session, there was a lively discussion on the economics of large and small scale SFRs in Japan, production cost targets, the rationale for the selection of SFRs and HTGRs, and the development timeline in France, among others.

Panel-2 “Nuclear Safety Research” moderated by Mr. SUDA Kazunori, Director of Vienna Office, JAEA.

Mr. AMAYA Masaki, Deputy Director General of Nuclear Safety Research Center, Sector of Nuclear Safety Research and Emergency Preparedness, JAEA made a report titled “Current Status of Research on Nuclear Safety and Emergency Preparedness in JAEA and Expectation for future IRSN-JAEA Co-operation”.

Mr. François BARRE, Deputy Director of Nuclear Safety Research, IRSN delivered this presentation titled “Nuclear Safety Research at IRSN”, followed by a Q&A session.

Mr. AMAYA described the current R&D scope of the Sector of Nuclear Safety Research and Emergency Preparedness, main facilities for safety research, international co-operation, current IRSN-JAEA co-operation (improvement of thermal-hydraulic and source term models applied to the severe accident analysis code, development of advanced measurement technique on the experiment of thermal-hydraulic and source term with severe accident (SA) condition, and criticality safety research using Static Experiment Critical Facility (STACY)). As IRSN-JAEA co-operation to be expected in the future, he noted criticality safety with the use of modified STACY, fuel safety (fuel behavior during accidents such as fuel fragmentation, relocation and dispersal (FFRD) at LOCA, etc.), plant safety (stress corrosion cracking (SCC), hazard and fragility evaluation (earthquakes, impacts, etc.)), thermal-hydraulic safety (pool scrubbing, etc.), and emergency preparedness and responses (analysis methods of aerial monitoring, information exchange including co-operation with private companies in monitoring during a large-scale radiation accident).

Mr. BARRE described the role of IRSN, the IRSN’s scientific strategy, IRSN R&D strategic main lines, IRSN’s organisational structure, IRSN experimental platforms, projects, fire risk projects, tools for criticality assessment and international collaborations. As regards the subjects expected to strengthen co-operation with Japan, he noted challenges of concrete aging and cable aging associated with long-term operation of reactors, fire risk, dismantlement, ATF, spent fuel pools, and the development of computer codes and experimental activities in SMR as future technologies.

The Q&A session saw lively exchange of ideas on future co-operation between JAEA and IRSN, technology-neutral or type-independent theoretical approaches, JAEA’s role as technical support organisation in the preparation and development of regulatory criteria, among others.

In his closing remarks, Mr. IRIE Tsutomu, Director of Paris Office, JAEA expressed his gratitude to all those involved. He summarized that, the workshop, although short, is a good opportunity to share and discuss with the participants the current nuclear energy policies of Japan and France, the activities of French and Japanese nuclear R&D organisations, and the potential for future co-operation. He also stated that the importance of nuclear energy is now being emphasized in many countries around the world, and that the efforts of Japanese and French organisations, which have long worked and co-operated in nuclear energy R&D, are becoming more and more important. He expressed his hope that JAEA Paris Office will continue to be utilised to promote French-Japanese co-operation and to build a network.

This was the first time in three years and the first event organized by the Paris office to be held in a hybrid format. The event was attended by key figures in nuclear energy R&D from both Japan and France, and there were intensive discussions reflecting recent developments in both countries. JAEA will continue to seize various opportunities to expand networking with France in the future.

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