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EU-STRA-Strålevern

StakeHolder-based Analysis of REsearch for Decommissioning

Alternative title: Interessent-basert analyse av forskningsbehov for dekommisjonering

Awarded: NOK 0.83 mill.

Decommissioning represents a crucial and highly complex stage of the nuclear cycle. There are still only few demonstrations of decommissioning programs which have been completed on an industrial scale. While decommissioning activities have achieved a certain level of maturity, further technological development work is required, particularly aimed at improving performances, safety and waste minimization. Individual countries are facing many challenges, including high development costs, difficulties in using innovative technologies or lack of resources. In this context, international coordination of activities between stakeholders is of the utmost importance. The H2020 EU-funded SHARE project (StakeHolders- based Analysis of REsearch for Decommissioning) is a forerunner to the establishment of a framework for collaboration on research activities related to the decommissioning of nuclear facilities by providing an inclusive roadmap for decommissioning research built on a stakeholder consultation process. The project aimed at enabling cooperation in both technical and non-technical areas, in the EU and internationally, to improve jointly safety, reduce costs and minimize environmental impact. Perspectives from different stakeholders across the decommissioning value chain have been gathered from a consultation process by means of a survey, followed by subsequent interactive workshops on needs, available solutions and gaps. Moving towards this goal, the SHARE Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) will help the EU and stakeholders to understand and assess the strategic areas to be recommended for financial support in the coming decades. The SHARE SRA considers research and innovation activities in the field of decommissioning that address these areas of improvement. It identifies the knowledge gaps, defines and prioritizes research topics to close those gaps by level of importance according to stakeholders’ views. In addition to innovation and technological challenges, it also addresses policy, economics and social issues. SHARE also provides a roadmap within the scope of the H2020 Euratom Work Programme 2018 (NFRP-2018-5) as a final outcome based on the valuable data generated in three steps. A timeline has been made based on the assessment of all stakeholders’ inputs where the most urgent bundled activities are presented according to their thematic area and action type. This timeline partially reflects the trends towards digitalisation, sustainability and circular economy, but also acknowledges recurring demands for training and education and harmonisation. The activities as determined in the course of this project provide solid empirical data that are coherent with the most prominent implementation issues in decommissioning projects as identified in the project “CIDER” in 2016. The project supports future coordination of R&I efforts.

The goal of the project SHARE was to identify the technical and non-technical needs in the international stakeholder community to provide a roadmap for the developments that will help reduce costs, minimize waste and the environmental impact and improve the worker safety in decommissioning projects. The SHARE main outputs - Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) and roadmap – have been built through an iterative consultation process considering the needs and points of view of different stakeholders. The project has through extensive international stakeholder engagement and dialogue produced a consolidated view of the opportunities to enhance the landscape of decommissioning and this is codified in the SRA and this Roadmap document. The activities range from RD&D for activities that create knowledge including benchmarking and technology development, Knowledge Sharing for activities that demand dissemination, Harmonisation of Practices for activities that require at least the adoption of best practices but can include regulatory measures, and Education and Training for activities that aim at creating and developing workforce competencies. There are many advantages in collaboration to deliver these activities, notably cost sharing of RD&D but also in the intellectual gearing of bringing the experience of different actors together to solve a problem. Collaboration and cooperation offer benefits for knowledge sharing, harmonisation and education and training. Within the SHARE project report D3.3 many instruments for collaboration were identified as relevant to the decommissioning context. Whilst it is not appropriate for the SHARE project to match specific instruments to specific scopes and tasks, it is possible to make the following observations: (i) European instruments led by the European Commission such as Horizon Europe are likely to continue to be the key facilitating instruments for open collaborative Research, Development & Demonstration (RD&D) across Europe, (ii) a strong European network perhaps facilitated through SNETP-Nugenia and IFE's DigiDecom has the potential to continue the stakeholder dialogue and networking achieved in SHARE, to inform policy, strategy, and the research agenda in decommissioning at a European level, (iii) for regulatory issues that occur frequently in the roadmap, close interaction with regulator networks such as ENSREG or WENRA could be fruitful. It was concluded, that effective implementation relies on strong collaboration based on shared drivers and goals, as embodied in the initiatives outlined above. Bilateral or smaller regional (local) collaborations will also play an important role in driving innovation where incentives and drivers align, to make progress against common goals.

SHARE intends to provide an inclusive roadmap for Research, in technical and non-technical fields, enabling stakeholders to jointly improve safety, reduce costs and minimize environmental impact in the decommissioning of nuclear facilities. Through a consultation process among the worldwide community involved in the decommissioning value chain, the project is committed to: - Building confidence in the steps needed for the generation of knowledge on decommissioning and its safety, economic and environmental aspects - Assist policy makers in future decisions about which research areas are most appropriate for financial support over the coming decades. - Create synergies, cooperation and coordination between the decommissioning stakeholder community and with other international platforms and organisations in Europe and beyond, - Engage universities and research laboratories in the innovative approaches, contributing to the maintenance of key skills in decommissioning and environmental remediation and to the development of young engineers in this growing field. A Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) will be is set up to define main decommissioning research actions needing a coordinated effort over the next years and in particular those actions for which enhanced cooperation within the shareholder community are desirable and achievable. These actions will result from a gap analysis where the expected situation answering to the needs and perspectives of different stakeholders will be compared to the present situation with existing and emerging innovative techniques and solutions, international best practices and advanced technologies. Three levels of stakeholders will be considered: the consortium, the expert review panel and the wider community of persons and organizations having an interest in decommissioning. From the topics identified in the SRA, a road map with detailed actions to be implemented in the 10-15 years will be developed, with a proposal of deploy

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EU-STRA-Strålevern