Non-Electric & Cogeneration Virtual Workshop with Regulators
The Non-Electric and Cogeneration Applications (NECA) Working Group hosted the Non-Electric & Cogeneration Virtual Workshop with Regulators on November 12-13, 2025 to identify challenges faced by regulators on these systems and also address policy frameworks, implementation logistics, and operational feasibility.
Overview of the event
This closed-door workshop brought together industrial energy end users and regulators to discuss non-electric and cogeneration applications of nuclear energy. Fifty participants joined the workshop, including engaged participation from regulatory bodies, codes and standards organisations, or technical service organisations that support regulators.
The event featured the following sessions:
- Session 1: Challenges and considerations for interfaces between industrial plants and nuclear plants.
- Session 2: Considerations for hydrogen production
- Session 3: Regulation of cogeneration and safety evaluation of external hazards
In addition to scene-setting remarks, information was provided through structured presentations and 90 minutes of interactive discussion each day. Besides the opening remarks, the event followed Chatham house rules. Comments are therefore intentionally included without attribution to the speaker to enable anonymity and foster knowledge sharing. Names are included in this document if permission was explicitly provided.
This virtual workshop builds on the success of previous end-user workshops hosted by the NECA Working Group, including:
- Non-Electric & Cogeneration Virtual Workshop with End Users held virtually in June 2025;
- Workshop on Non-Electric & Hybrid Applications of Nuclear Energy in Busan, Korea in April 2024.
- Workshop - Non-Electric Applications of Nuclear Heat in Toronto, Canada in October 2022
Key Insights from the Workshop
- Regulators have mechanisms to handle new technologies and innovations, and non-electric or cogeneration applications are not expected to be unique within these frameworks.
- Key challenges are (1) cost and economics, (2) regulatory or licensing uncertainty, and (3) deployment timelines.
- Demonstration projects and pilot plants are critical for building operational experience, validating safety cases, and increasing stakeholder confidence. To maximise learning from early demonstrations, collaboration among vendors, licensees, regulators, and industrial partners are crucial. Proponents must be informed on the relevance of specific project details in order to apply it to follow-on projects, especially in different jurisdictions.
- Proponents may be required to demonstrate the best available techniques to mitigate the impact of the nuclear power plant (NPP) on coupled industrial processes.
- There is a mismatch between the high safety standards required for nuclear facilities and those required at most industrial sites. Cooperation with regulators in non-nuclear industries is encouraged.
- Liability arrangements in cogeneration projects were highlighted as an area needing improved understanding. Historic examples of cogeneration could have benefited from more robust frameworks in place to handle liability in the event of a radioactive release.
- Regarding timelines, participants noted challenges for commercial planning. Industry energy planning decision timelines are quicker (~5 years and earlier) than current regulatory timelines for NPPs (10-15 years), and there is a desire to accelerate nuclear project timelines. On the regulatory side, the maturity of the design and the application of best available techniques to minimise cross-contamination are key factors in expediting approvals. Parallel processing of licensing steps, rather than a strictly sequential approach, was suggested as a way to reduce overall project duration.
- Changing the typical nuclear boundary in cogeneration projects was identified as a potential option to enable holistic regulatory review. Early demonstrations could benefit from a wider boundary, with subsequent projects having a smaller boundary once impacts are understood.
- NPPs could serve heat networks. Heat end users may need to act predictably so that heating networks can effectively serve as heat sinks for NPPs.
Workshop Proceedings
Workshop Programme
Day 1: 12 November 2025
| 13:00 – 13:35 Opening Session: Welcome address and scene setting remarks | |
| Welcome remarks (10 min) | Michael Fütterer, Technical Director, GIF |
| UK Nuclear Regulation: A Pro-Innovation Approach (25 min) | Office for Nuclear Regulation and Environment Agency |
| 13:40 – 14:30 Session 1: Challenges and considerations for interfaces between industrial plants and nuclear plants. | |
| Chair of session: | Francesco Ganda, Technical Lead, Non Electric Applications, International Atomic Energy Agency |
| Previous workshops identified requirements (monitoring, shutdown mechanisms, separation distances, exclusion zones), and challenges (dependencies between plants). Speakers will help to identify barriers to be distinguished from challenges | British Sugar (UK) CSA Group (Canada) Representative from the Halden Reactor Project (Norway) |
| 14:30 – 16:00 Interactive discussion. Moderated by Chuk Azih and Aiden Peakman, Co-chairs, NECA WG | |
Day 2: 13 November 2025
| 13:00 – 13:10 Opening Session: Day 2 opening remarks | ||
| Opening remarks on the importance of discussing potential challenges in advance of a license application. | Eetu Ahonen, Chair of the WGNT task group on non-electric applications (Finland) | |
| 13:10 – 13:45 Session 2: Considerations for hydrogen production | ||
| Chair of session: | Pierre Serre-Combe, Chair of Hydrogen Production Project, GIF | |
| Speakers will discuss practical and safety considerations for producing hydrogen with nuclear energy. | Bruce Power (Canada) Institute of Nuclear Energy and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University (China) | |
| 13:45 – 14:30 Session 3: Regulation of cogeneration and safety evaluation of external hazards | ||
| Chair of session: | Tanju Sofu, Risk and Safety Working Group, GIF (USA) | |
| Speakers will focus on focus on innovative approaches to regulate topics like cogeneration and strategies to evaluate external hazards that may impact nuclear facilities. | Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (Canada) China Nuclear and Radiation Safety Center (China) Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (Korea) | |
| 14:30 – 16:00 Interactive discussion. Moderated by Aiden Peakman, Co-chair, NECA WG (UK) | ||