U.S. LWR Sustainability Program

1. U.S. LWR Sustainability Program NUTHOS-7 October 5-9, 2008 Grand Intercontinental Hotel, Seoul, Korea Ronaldo SzilardDirector, INL, Nuclear Science & Engineering Director, Technical Integration Office, LWR Sustainability Program

2. Overview: Maintaining the Nuclear Option • The U.S. Perspective • R&D program to meet the U.S. government & industry needs • Vision, Basis, Goals, Scope • R&D areas • Laying the foundation for a new private-public partnership • Summary

3. The U.S. Perspective Current U.S. energy portfolio • By 2030, U.S. electricity demand expected to increase ~ 30% • Nuclear generation is critical to U.S. efforts to: • Reduce greenhouse gases • Meet electricity demand • Ensure energy supply security and grid reliability • Curb increasing energy prices • Cost to replace the current fleet exceeds $500B in addition to the capacity that will be added as the U.S. builds new plants It is in the U.S. interest for the current fleet of nuclear power plants to be operated as long as possible

4. “We have a situation where we have these high (oil) prices and the only solution is to diversify your resources, diversify your sources of fuel…” U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, June 7, 2008 Energy Security = Diversification AP Photo Source: NEI Nuclear Policy Overview Nov/Dec 2007 Energy policy must be implemented through long-standing policy based on energy security, beyond short term market forces

5. Reliance on existing plants • 40+20 year licenses means current plants shut down starting 2030 • Steep reduction in generation if current fleet operations are not sustained • Without today’s nuclear plants, we lose: • 100 GWe of low-carbon generation over about 20 years – climate, air pollution concerns • Low-cost generation – economic concerns for businesses, homeowners Extending operation of existing reactors will avoid ~12 billion metric tons CO2 and provide enough electricity for 70 million homes during an additional 20 years of operations.

6. License extension plans of 104 operating reactors

7. Program Vision and Goals VISION GOALS • Existing nuclear power plants will continue to safely provide clean and affordable electricity beyond current license periods • Develop the understanding, tools, and processes to ensure continued long term safe operation of existing nuclear power plants • Develop technical and operational improvements that contribute to the economic viability of existing nuclear power plants

8. What have we done so far? • INL, EPRI examination of the issues associated with long term safe and economical operation of existing and new plants • DOE-NRC co-sponsored industry-wide workshop examining research questions and opportunities http://nuclear.inl.gov/docs/papers-presentations/lwr_strategic_plan.pdf • Significant planning effort underway to launch a private-public partnership this fall • Subject matter expert workshops to identify research projects and priorities • Broad participation from industry, including NRC, EPRI, vendors, utilities, universities • Steering Committee • R&D Program Plan http://nuclear.energy.gov/pdfFiles/LifeAfter60WorkshopReport.pdf

9. Five high-priority objectives supporting operating LWRs: R&D Program Objectives Sustain high performance of reactor plant materials Transition to state-of-the-art digital I&C Advances in nuclear fuel Implement broad-spectrum workforce development Implement broad-spectrum improvements and design for sustainability

10. Collaborative R&D Program Present Scope • Nuclear Materials Aging and Degradation • Advanced LWR Fuel Development • Risk-Informed Safety Margin Characterization • Advanced Instrumentation and Control Technologies Funding • FY2009 - $9.75 Million • Initial focus on “component and material aging and degradation activities” R&D Implementation • Coordinated by INL Technical Integration Office (TIO) • Coordinated with EPRI and NRC-RES • Implementation through broad-based Industry / National Laboratories / University collaboration / international partners

11. Success Requires the Right Kind of Partnerships • Designed to facilitate industry and government decisions on long-term LWR operations • Industry and government jointly define and fund R&D • Provides access to expertise and facilities – leveraging the best experts on the right projects • Includes cost sharing dependent on type of research and timescale • Created with integrated collaboration among industry, government and universities • Independent steering committee oversight

12. Radiation Water Chemistry Effects Materials Aging and Degradation Advanced Fuels NDE Technology Advanced Inspection In-service Surveillance Advanced Instrumentation and Controls Performance Validation Risk-Informed Safety Margins Integration and collaboration between R&D pathways is critical for success of LWRSP

13. Four R&D areas have been identified: Reactor Metals Reactor Pressure Vessels Core Internals Secondary System Weldments Cables Piping Concrete Nuclear Materials Aging and Degradation • Research to develop the scientific basis for understanding laboratory and field data on environmental degradation of materials, components, and structures essential to safe and sustained nuclear plant operations Proactive Materials Degradation Assessment Matrix

14. Aging and Degradation – R&D Areas

15. Materials aging and degradation in nuclear reactor systems is complex Understanding Combined Effects Materials Stainless steel Ni-alloys Cast stainless steel Low-alloy steel Zirconium alloys Mechanical Failure Corrosion, Thermal Aging, Embrittlement Environment Temperature Irradiation Corrosive Media (pH, ECP, flow rate) Stress Load Frequency State Constraints Stress-Corrosion Cracking

16. Aging and Degradation – Time Table

17. Three areas of research Advanced Designs and Concepts Advanced Science-based Analysis for fundamental mechanistic understanding Advanced Tools Two Time Horizons 5-10: Support LTO decision in 2014-2019 10-20: Support LTO operation beyond 2030 Advanced LWR Fuel Development • Research to maintain and improve nuclear fuel designs to achieve improved economic performance while demonstrating safety and performance margins. Develop high burn-up fuel with improved cladding integrity as a primary fission product barrier

18. Advanced LWR Fuel Development – Time Table

19. Four Proposed Technical Projects: Centralized On-line Monitoring for Critical SSCs Information technology and degradation models/cases to enable real time automatic statistical analysis, pattern recognition, and criteria to diagnose degraded conditions and predict remaining useful life of SSCs New I&C and HSI Capabilities and Architecture Approach to achieve life cycle renewal of information & control capabilities needed to continue to operate safely and more efficiently Life-cycle NDE Information Assessment Enhancement of measurement (NDE+), data capture and storage for NPP primary systems to support forthcoming diagnostic and prognostic models Maintaining the Licensing and Design Basis Tacit knowledge capture and transfer enhanced by 3-D virtual models where beneficial Advanced Instrumentation and Control Technologies • Research to improve inspection and monitoring technologies, including detailed strategies for managing Instrumentation & Control (I&C) system upgrades. Develop, implement, and evaluate prognostic monitoring approaches for both non-safety-related and safety-related systems

20. I&C Technologies Time Table

21. Three R&D Areas Identified: Integrated Risk Modeling aggregation of all hazards, declarative modeling, treatment of uncertainties Enhanced technology integration aging effects, equipment condition, visualization of results, real time success criteria Real time analysis capability for operational risk management decision-making advanced quantification techniques, plant data connectivity Risk-Informed Safety Margin Characterization • Research to fully understand and incorporate single effects and integral testing results into both deterministic and risk-informed safety margin characterizations

22. RISMC R&D Strategy

23. RISMC Time Table

24. Summary • USG recognizes the important role of US nuclear power plants • New nuclear plants are not expected to come on-line to compensate for 60 year retirements • Continued long-term operation of existing nuclear plants is key to future emission-free generation • Research is necessary to establish basis for long-term operation of existing nuclear plants beyond 60 years • Be driven by industry needs • Answer questions on systems, structures and components aging and reliability issues associated with long-term operation • Leverage the resources of industry, national laboratory, and university system • Continue to improve LWR technology