ML25063A325

Section 205(c) Public Meeting Presentation_3-5-2025

ML25063A325
Person / Time
Issue date:	03/04/2025
From:	Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards
To:
References
Download: ML25063A325 (1)

Text

ADVANCE Act Section 205(c):

Study on Regulatory Frameworks for Mass-Manufactured Fusion Machines NRC Public Meeting March 5, 2025

Agenda

• Meeting Logistics

• Introductions

• NRC Presentation

• Public Comments

• Closing Remarks 2

Meeting Logistics

• Participants are in listen-only mode until the designated comment session.

• This meeting will be transcribed.

• No regulatory decisions will be made at todays meeting.

• This meeting was publicly noticed on February 21, 2025.

3

To Participate Today

1) Use the Raise Hand button to indicate your desire to make a statement.

2) Wait for facilitator to acknowledge your turn to speak.

3) Unmute yourself and provide comment.

4 Note: The chat feature will be disabled during this meeting.

Introductions and Opening Remarks Mike King, Special Assistant for ADVANCE Act 5

ADVANCE Act at NRC

• The NRC efforts on Section 205(c) are part of the NRCs overall implementation of the ADVANCE Act.

• The ADVANCE Act requires the NRC to take a number of actions, while maintaining the NRCs core mission to protect public health and safety.

• The NRC has established a public website (https://www.nrc.gov/aboutnrc/governinglaws/advanceact.html) to inform and engage external stakeholders during implementation of the ADVANCE Act.

6

How to Follow Our Progress Follow NRCs ADVANCE Act implementation with this Dashboard 7

For Upcoming and Past Meetings For NRCs public meeting information on ADVANCE Act 8

How to Ask Questions and Submit Ideas Contact us with ADVANCE Act questions, comments, and ideas 9

NRC Presentation Ed Harvey, Senior Health Physicist Office of Nuclear Material Safety & Safeguards U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 10

Scope of Meeting

• The NRC is gathering comments and feedback on its implementation of Section 205(c) of the ADVANCE Act.

• The scope of this meeting is limited to the NRCs study on licensing frameworks for mass-manufactured fusion machines.

11

ADVANCE Act Section 205(c) Requirements

• Perform a study on performance-based, design-specific licensing frameworks for mass-manufactured fusion machines.

• Study to be performed in consultation with Agreement States and private fusion sector.

• Evaluate the design, manufacturing, and operations certification process for aircraft used by the Federal Aviation Administration as a potential model.

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ADVANCE Act Section 205(c) Requirements

• Develop an estimated timeline for the NRC to issue consolidated guidance or regulations for licensing mass-manufactured fusion machines, considering:

1) The results of the Section 205(c) study; and

2) The anticipated need for such guidance and regulations

• Submit a report to Congress by July 9, 2025 13

ADVANCE Act Section 205(c) Efforts to Date

• Staff conducted reviews of existing NRC standardized review processes to evaluate their applicability to the licensing of mass-manufactured fusion machines, including certification processes for:

• Sealed sources and devices under 10 CFR Part 32

• Transportation packages under 10 CFR Part 71

• Independent spent fuel containers under 10 CFR Part 72 14

ADVANCE Act Section 205(c) Efforts to Date

• Staff is also coordinating with other Federal and State regulatory agencies to leverage insights on external certification processes used for complex devices under their cognizance and authority. Specific examples include:

• The Federal Aviation Administrations design, manufacturing, and operations certification of aircraft

• The Food and Drug Administrations review of radiation therapy medical devices

• The Department of Transportations regulation of safety-related components for vehicles

• Agreement State licensing of fusion machines 15

Topics Under Consideration

• Timeline for integration of fusion-generated energy to reach the U.S. power grid.

• Milestones and accomplishments that could be used to track progress of fusion machine development.

• Public concerns with fusion machines operated in the public domain.

• Scale of mass-manufacturing.

• Expectations of fusion machine manufacturers.

• Criteria for standardized fusion machine design certification.

• Supply-chain considerations.

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Future Work/Milestones

• Government-to-Government meeting with the Agreement States (March 2025)

• Draft report into internal concurrence process (April 2025)

• Report due to Congress (July 2025) 17

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Thank You!

Contacts Ed Harvey, Senior Health Physicist edward.harvey@nrc.gov Duncan White, Senior Health Physicist duncan.white@nrc.gov Allyce Bolger, Intergovernmental Liaison Program Manager allyce.bolger@nrc.gov 19