The American Nuclear Society’s Risk-informed, Performance-based Principles and Policy Committee (RP3C) recently held another presentation in its monthly Community of Practice (CoP) series. Former RP3C chair N. Prasad Kadambi opened the meeting with brief introductory remarks about the RP3C and the need for new approaches to nuclear design that go beyond conventional and deterministic methods. He then welcomed this month’s speaker: Jon Facemire, senior project manager of new nuclear at the Nuclear Energy Institute, who presented “New Regulatory Frameworks: Part 53, Proposed Part 57, and Considerations for Licensing.”

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has released a new licensing framework for microreactors and similar reactor designs that may provide a more suitable pathway for applicants with simpler technologies.

The proposed rule—known as Part 57—is the latest to come out of the NRC’s rules review and overhaul stemming from the ADVANCE Act and 2025 nuclear-related executive orders. It is also the latest framework developed for advanced reactor designs shifting away from light water reactor technology, such as the Part 53 rule finalized in March.