ML22251A382
| ML22251A382 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 09/28/2022 |
| From: | Steven Lynch NRC/NRR/DANU/UARP |
| To: | Desai S Helion Energy |
| Proffitt A | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML22252A081 | List: |
| References | |
| Download: ML22251A382 (3) | |
Text
Sachin Desai General Counsel Helion Energy 1415 75th St SW Everett, WA 98203
Dear Mr. Desai:
On behalf of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), I am responding to your August 12, 2022, letter on the classification of fusion devices as particle accelerators and supplementing common defense & security discussions. We appreciate your recognition of the strong work the NRC staffs efforts to evaluate how best to approach regulation of nuclear fusion devices.
The NRC staff is currently preparing regulatory framework options for Commission consideration and is on schedule to provide a recommendation to the Commission this fall. The NRC staff has had substantial stakeholder engagement to inform its work, including the following:
six NRC public meetings held from January 2021 through June 2022;
a joint public workshop sponsored by the NRC, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and Fusion Industry Association;
NRC staff participation in the White House summit, Developing a Bold Decadal Vision for Commercial Fusion Energy, and the follow-on DOE workshop;
international engagement through bilateral government-to-government interactions and International Atomic Energy Agency activities; and
coordination with the Organization of Agreement States and inclusion of Agreement State representatives on the NRCs fusion working group.
From these activities, the NRC staff gathered information on proposed designs and potential risks associated with fusion energy devices. Consistent with the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act, the staff is evaluating the NRCs existing regulatory framework and using the information from stakeholder engagement to inform possible regulatory approaches commensurate with anticipated technologies and associated risk.
The Commission plans to conduct a public Commission meeting later this year to discuss the NRC staffs work and hear from the NRC staff and external stakeholders. This interaction will further inform their consideration of the NRC staffs forthcoming recommendation for establishing a risk-informed performance-based regulatory framework for commercial fusion energy devices to be in place before the end of 2027.
September 28, 2022
S. Desai 2
Thank you for your continued interest in this topic. If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact me at (301) 415-1524 or by e-mail to steven.lynch@nrc.gov.
Sincerely, Steven T. Lynch, Branch Chief Advanced Reactor Policy Branch Division of Advanced Reactors and Non-Power Production and Utilization Facilities Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Signed by Lynch, Steven on 09/28/22
S. Desai 3
SUBJECT:
RESPONSE TO SACHIN DESAI OF HELION ENERGY ON CLASSIFICATION OF FUSION DEVICES AS PARTICLE ACCELERATORS; AND SUPPLEMENTING COMMON DEFENSE AND SECURITY DISCUSSIONS DATED SEPTEMBER 28, 2022 DISTRIBUTION:
PUBLIC MShams, NRR JSegala, NRR SLynch, NRR AProffitt, NRR RidsNrrOd Resource RidsNrrDanuUarp RidsNrrDanu ADAMS Accession Number: Pkg: M22252A081 OFFICE NRR/DANU NRR/DANU NRR/DANU NRR/DANU NAME AProffitt SLynch MShams SLynch DATE 9/27/2022 9/28/2022 9/28/2022 9/28/2022 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY