Regulatory Harmonization: An Upcoming Hurdle for SMRs?
Nuclear developers may have problems selling small modular reactors abroad. GreenTech Media JASON DEIGN FEBRUARY 15, 2021  The nuclear industry is betting on small modular reactors (SMRs) to regain its competitive edge in markets such as the U.S. and Canada. Proponents say the reactors can be built cheaply once multiple units start being ordered and can even lead to lucrative export opportunities.There’s just one problem. If you build an SMR in the U.S., for example, you can’t sell it in Canada until Canadian regulators have approved the design. And the same goes for every other nuclear market in the world. Even nuclear insiders recognize that this could be a big issue for SMRs.

Regulatory harmonization has a lot to do with whether or not SMRs are going to be able to achieve cost competitiveness,” stated John Gorman, president and CEO of the Canadian Nuclear Association, in an interview.

… national regulations cover everything from food safety to vehicle emissions.

But the hyper-safety-conscious nuclear industry takes regulation to a whole new level. The SMR manufacturer NuScale, for example, claims to have spent more than $500 million, plus 2 million labor hours, in the process of passing its U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Design Certification Application…….

National regulations are not just highly detailed but also wildly divergent. The differences between the regulatory regimes in the U.S. and the U.K., for example, reflect not just different jurisdictions but entirely different safety philosophies.

………  even a regulatory approval from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission won’t pass muster in the U.S.,,,,,   https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/regulatory-harmonization-an-upcoming-hurdle-for-smrs