SSTC NRS Participates in International Review of New Nuclear Technologies: A Strategic Opportunity for Ukraine

In December 2025, the State Scientific and Technical Center for Nuclear and Radiation Safety (SSTC NRS) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Finnish company Steady Energy, which specializes in the development of new nuclear technologies. In particular, the Steady Energy is designing the concept of the LDR-50 light-water reactor, small modular reactor (SMR) with a thermal power of 50 MW per module and passive heat removal functions intended for underground deployment. The technology is aimed at the generation of thermal energy that is urgent for Ukraine nowadays. 

The Memorandum identifies the following agreed areas for potential further cooperation: independent technical assessment of Steady Energy SMR concepts and related documents primarily for LDR-50 design in terms of Ukrainian nuclear and radiation safety requirements, as well as international standards. In addition, Ukrainian experts will participate in bilateral and multilateral technical reviews providing expert comments to reveal potential key problems of the design, technical issues and informational needs at early design stages.

One of the objectives of the partnership is to develop effective models of interaction between the Steady Energy and the SNRIU, which may lay the foundation for future pre-licensing and licensing procedures in case Steady Energy technologies are implemented in Ukraine. Ukrainian experts will provide the Steady Energy with independent consulting services on compliance of design documents with Ukrainian requirements, IAEA and WENRA standards, as well as recommendations for improvement of documents taking into account regulatory expectations and international practices without prejudice to any future official decisions. 

A major area of activities under the Memorandum discussed is the creation of specialized training modules to perform seminars, workshops and courses to familiarize with the LDR-50 concept, its safety philosophy, defence in depth principles and key design features. Specific programs will be aimed at SNRIU and SSTC NRS experts, universities and other interested structures.

At the same time, the SSTC NRS recently became a participant in the JER Project that is a pre-licensing assessment, which involves a joint international technical review process aimed at contributing to an early dialogue between the Steady Energy and the regulatory authorities of the participating countries.

The nuclear safety regulatory authorities of Sweden (SSM), Poland (PAA), the Czech Republic (SÚJB), as well as the technical support organization of SÚJB (SÚRO), are involved into the Project together with the SNRIU and the SSTC NRS.

The purpose of these activities is to provide an early feedback to the technology developer on the sufficiency of design features to ensure a high safety level of LDR-50 conceptual design and its compliance with regulatory requirements of the participating countries. Another important goal is to obtain practical experience of effective cooperation between nuclear safety regulatory authorities of different countries at early stages of new reactor technology development. In particular, the purpose is to explore how an assessment performed by a nuclear safety regulatory authority in one country can provide valuable support for safety assessment performed by the regulatory authorities in other countries through maintaining the full independence of the national regulatory authority.

SSTC NRS experts will perform an independent analysis of the design documents for this facility. SSTC NRS main task is to check the extent to which LDR-50 concept complies with Ukrainian requirements for nuclear and radiation safety. While implementing these activities, SSTC NRS experts will perform a high-level review of the general reactor facility design, its safety concept and approaches to operation in accordance with the current regulatory framework of Ukraine.

The analysis will also cover the assessment of compliance of LDR-50 design features with the national legislation, as well as regulations and rules determining the requirements for nuclear facilities. Peculiar attention will be paid to the consistency with the general safety provisions approved by the SNRIU and special regulations on the design of nuclear power plants and other nuclear facilities. In cases where Ukrainian regulatory framework does not yet cover sufficiently detailed requirements for new reactor concepts, the SSTC NRS will use IAEA Safety Standards and WENRA Reference Levels as envisaged by the pre-licensing review procedures.

Another important area is to support the SNRIU in forming the Ukrainian position within the JER Project. The experts will develop proposals for formulating questions to the developer, prepare technical comments and conclusions for joint discussions with international partners. Upon the results of the analysis performed, the SSTC NRS will develop a draft national report, which will include a separate section on the use of the STUK assessment according to the approaches presented in IAEA TECDOC-2098 related to joint reviews and exchange of the results.

Therefore, the participation of the SSTC NRS in the Project will provide Ukraine not only with a comprehensive technical assessment of a new reactor concept, but also with practical experience in international cooperation in the sphere of safety regulation of new nuclear technologies, which is important for further development of the national review and adaptation to advanced global practice. 

According to SSTC NRS