ML26008A113
| ML26008A113 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | 99902143 |
| Issue date: | 01/12/2026 |
| From: | Getachew Tesfaye NRC/NRR/DNRL/NRLB |
| To: | Jardaneh M Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| References | |
| Download: ML26008A113 (0) | |
Text
MEMORANDUM TO:
Mahmoud Jardaneh, Chief New Reactor Licensing Branch Division of New and Renewed Licenses Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation FROM:
Getachew Tesfaye, Senior Project Manager New Reactor Licensing Branch Division of New and Renewed Licenses Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
SUBJECT:
AUDIT PLAN FOR THE STAFF REVIEW OF THE ROLLS-ROYCE SMALL MODULAR REACTOR (SMR) PRE-APPLICATION TOPICAL REPORTS AND WHITEPAPERS By letter dated July 9, 2025, Rolls-Royce SMR Limited (Rolls-Royce SMR) submitted a regulatory engagement plan, Revision 3 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System Accession No. ML25239A005) for Pre-Application activities. The regulatory engagement plan describes the pre-application interactions Rolls-Royce SMR intends to have with the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) throughout the pre-application engagement phase for the Rolls-Royce SMR design. The staff audits material that may be needed to make a reasonable assurance finding that the design protects public health and safety.
The audit will begin on January 14, 2026, with an Entrance Meeting. The audit is being conducted primarily via the established Rollce-Royce Electronic Reading Room (when available) and at Rollce-Royces offices in Reston, Virginia and United Kingdom. The U.S. NRC headquarters offices can also be used for hybrid (virtual/in-person) audit meetings, as appropriate. The contents of the audit plan are provided as an enclosure to this memorandum.
Docket No. 99902143
Enclosure:
Audit Plan cc w/encl.: Rolls-Royce SMR CONTACT: Getachew Tesfaye, NRR/DNRL 301-415-8013 January 12, 2026 Signed by Tesfay on 01/12/26
- GTesfaye DATE 01/07/2025 01/09/2025 Enclosure AUDIT PLAN FOR THE STAFF REVIEW OF THE ROLLS-ROYCE SMR (RR SMR) PRE-APPLICATION TOPICAL REPORTS AND WHITEPAPERS DOCKET NO. 99902143 AUDIT PLAN APPLICANT:
CONTACTS:
Programme Manager: Francesco Pellegrino DURATION:
January 14, 2026 - December 24, 2026 LOCATION:
(via RR SMR Electronic Reading Room when available (eRR) and hybrid (virtual/in-person))
U.S. NRC Headquarters One White Flint North 11545 Rockville Pike Rockville, Maryland 20852-2738 Rollce-Royce North America 1900 Reston Metro Plaza, Suite 400 Reston, VA 20190 Rolls-Royce SMR, Jubilee House 4 Saint Christopher's Way Pride Park, Derby, DE24 8JY England, United Kingdom NRC AUDIT TEAM:
Subject Matter Experts NRC Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR)
Mahmoud Jardaneh Branch Chief, NRR/DNRL/NRLB Getachew Tesfaye Senior Project Manager, NRR/DNRL/NRLB Scott Wall Senior Project Manager, NRR/DORL/PLB3
I.
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES By letter dated July 9, 2025, Rolls-Royce SMR Limited (Rolls-Royce SMR) submitted a regulatory engagement plan, Revision 3 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System Accession No. ML25239A005) for Pre-Application activities. The regulatory engagement plan describes the pre-application interactions Rolls-Royce SMR intends to have with the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) throughout the pre-application engagement phase for the Rolls-Royce SMR design. The staff audits material that may be needed to make a reasonable assurance finding that the design protects public health and safety. If the NRC staff identifies information that is needed to support a finding, Rollce-Royce SMR is expected to submit the information on the application docket.
II.
REGULATORY AUDIT BASIS This regulatory audit is primarily based on Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR)
Part 52, Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants.
III.
REGULATORY AUDIT SCOPE The audit covers all topical reports and white papers submitted during the pre-application phase of the Rolls-Royce SMR design IV.
INFORMATION AND OTHER MATERIAL NECCSSARY FOR THE REGULATORY AUDIT Rollce-Royce SMR should be prepared to provide documents, reports, calculations, computer code verification, and other material, as applicable, supporting the analyses in topical reports and white papers. The NRC staff may request that Rollce-Royce SMR make these additional materials available in the eRR (when available) and/or as a computer disc to be submitted on the docket.
V SPECIAL REQUESTS Rollce-Royce and NRC have discussed and agreed upon the following audit logistics:
Rollce-Royce creates eRR portal for document viewing.
o Rollce-Royce to set up access for NRC participants once the staff emails are communicated.
The request for additional information (RAI) process will be used when:
o completion of the response will extend past the audit close date o
requested by Rollce-Royce SMR or NRC NRC will send formal RAI to Rollce-Royce SMR via email RAI clock starts on the day the question is sent Rollce-Royce SMR will respond to RAI questions:
o Does the RAI contain proprietary, export control, or security related information?
o Is clarification needed?
o Is the 30-day response timeline achievable?
Rollce-Royce SMR responses to RAIs will be submitted electronically to the NRC docket.
VI DELIVERABLES The NRC audit team is expected to be composed of the above-listed project managers and technical reviewers depending on the topic of review. The NRC staff acknowledges the proprietary nature of the information requested and will handle it in accordance with agency policies and procedures throughout the audit. While the NRC staff will take notes, the NRC staff will not remove hard copies or electronic files from the audit site(s).
The audit started on January 14, 2026, and will end on December 24, 2026.
The NRC will inform Rollce-Royce SMR of emerging information needs as well as documents that can be removed from eRR.
The NRC will generate an audit report at the completion of the audit. The audit report will include a link for all docketed materials requested by the staff during the audit.
The NRC point of contact for communicating questions or comments related to the conduct of the audit is Mr. Getachew Tesfaye, who can be reached at 301-415-8013 or via email at Getachew.Tesfaye@nrc.gov.