At the 6th INPRO Dialogue Forum, the IAEA recommended consideration of international certification of SMRs. This long-term recommendation must recognize and integrate with the preservation of sovereign authority for licensing. The aviation industry is recognized as a credible model for international certification of airplanes. It may be a difficult task for the international nuclear community to develop a similar certification process simply because NPPs are sited at a fixed location within the boundaries of a sovereign nation with governmental responsibility to license and regulate to protect its citizens and neighbors. Difficult as this task may be, the standardized design of SMRs that will be manufactured and deployed internationally presents an opportunity to assess areas of licensing that may benefit from international certification. Possible licensing areas for international certification include:

• SMR operators;

• SMR manufacturing facilities, equipment, and processes;

• SMR standardized operation and maintenance.

The IAEA must take a lead role in assessing international certification projects. Member states need to participate in and approve any certification process. The IAEA must develop the capabilities and processes to review, approve, and inspect international certification requirements. The global deployment of standardized reactor designs that offer significantly enhanced safety and security features provides a great opportunity to integrate traditional country-specific licensing processes into a more international licensing framework.

11.4 Conclusion

SMRs hold the promise for successful commercial deployment in many and diverse global markets. SMRs offer enhanced safety, security, and flexibility for all applications. Most energy and environmental governmental policies support this clean energy alternative. However, this energy alternative and commercial promise must be advanced by enhanced and informed licensing that recognizes the advantages of the SMR safety design, fabrication quality, reduced public risk, and deployment flexibility.

This chapter provides a strategy and framework, based on US NRC SMR licensing processes and decisions, to support effective and timely licensing. It offers recommendations on how this new reactor technology can be licensed in a collaborative international framework but still recognizes the regulatory responsibilities of each sovereign regulatory authority. Successful licensing pathways must be collaborative, based on the uniformity of SMR designs and manufacturing, and yet reflect the safety and siting considerations that are unique for each application. Enhanced SMR characteristics present a new nuclear licensing paradigm that shifts traditional sovereign regulatory authority responsibilities to an international strategy and framework for certification of approved and licensed SMR designs, and attendant fabrication, operation, and maintenance processes.