ML25084A158
| ML25084A158 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 03/25/2025 |
| From: | Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards |
| To: | |
| References | |
| Download: ML25084A158 (1) | |
Text
ADVANCE Act Section 205(c):
Study on Regulatory Frameworks for Mass-Manufactured Fusion Machines Government-to-Government Meeting March 26, 2025
Agenda
- ADVANCE Act Overview
- Section 205(c) Study
- Upcoming Milestones
- Q & A 2
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.
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How to Follow Our Progress Follow NRCs ADVANCE Act implementation with this Dashboard 4
For Upcoming and Past Meetings For NRCs public meeting information on ADVANCE Act 5
How to Ask Questions and Submit Ideas Contact us with ADVANCE Act questions, comments, and ideas 6
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 8
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 nuclear fuel casks under 10 CFR Part 72 9
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 10
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
- Draft report into internal concurrence process (April 2025)
- EDO Briefing (May 2025)
- Commissioners Technical Assistants Briefing (June 2025)
- Report due to Congress (July 2025) 12
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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 14
How to Ask Questions and Submit Ideas Contact us with ADVANCE Act questions, comments, and ideas 15