Licensing of Advanced Reactor Instrumentation and Control

The nuclear industry is pursuing the development and licensing of a number of advanced reactor designs of various technologies and sizes. Instrumentation and control (I&C) for these designs can play a key role in the operation and safety of the facilities. Multiple advanced reactor designers and applicants are in various licensing stages working closely with the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The industry has submitted power reactor construction permit applications for advanced reactors, and they are currently under NRC staff review. Multiple designers have also been engaged with the NRC staff regarding I&C as part of the pre-application activities. In addition, the NRC has been preparing for the review of the advanced reactor licensing applications and developed various regulatory guidance on the risk-informed and performance-based (RIPB) approach with a goal for an efficient and reliable licensing review. The Advanced Reactor Content of Application Project (ARCAP), which encompasses the Technology-inclusive Content of Application Project (TICAP) spearheaded by the industry, led to issuance of a set of regulatory guidance that include Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.233, which endorses NEI 18-04, RG 1.253, which endorses NEI 21-07, and various Interim Staff Guidance documents. The implementation of the RIPB regulatory infrastructure provides opportunities and challenges for the I&C design and licensing. Specific to I&C, the NRC staff has also issued Design Review Guide (DRG) for I&C to be ready for the advanced reactors, and several designers are using this guidance. This panel will discuss the NRC staff and industry perspectives on the development and licensing of advanced reactor I&C. The emphasis for this panel is placed on the I&C-related regulatory infrastructure, the approaches of some of the designers, the industry implementation, challenges, and experience of such regulatory infrastructure, and the NRC perspectives.