Designer (requesting party): Hitachi-GE
Current position: Assessment of reactor design complete. Design Acceptance Confirmation issued in December 2017.
Timeline: January 2013 - Request from Minister for State for Energy to start GDA of the ABWR April 2013 - Jan 2014 - step 1 (preparatory step) Jan 2014 - Aug 2014 - step 2 (initial assessment) Aug 2014 - Oct 2015 - step 3 (detailed assessment) Nov 2015 - Dec 2017 - step 4 (detailed design, safety case and security evidence assessment) Dec 2017 - Design acceptance granted
Progress reports
At the end of each step of the assessment, the regulators publish detailed technical reports and a summary report.
Design acceptance
In December 2017, ONR, the Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales granted Design Acceptance Confirmation and a Statement of Design Acceptability.
The regulators published a series of summary and technical Assessment Reports on their respective websites.
- Summary of the GDA Assessment of Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy, Ltd.’s UK ABWR Nuclear Reactor and ONR’s Decision to Issue a Design Acceptance Confirmation
- Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales - GDA of Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy Ltd’s UK Advanced Boiling Water Reactor
- ONR - Step 4 Assessment Reports
- Design Acceptance Confirmation (DAC)
Regulatory observations and resolution plans
A regulatory observation is a potential regulatory shortfall identified by the regulators. It requires action and new work for it to be addressed. There are currently 80 regulatory observations for the UK ABWR. Hitachi-GE has published resolution plans for all of the observations, outlining the action they will take to address the shortfall.
Regulatory issues and resolution plans
A regulatory issue is a serious regulatory shortfall identified by the regulators. The issues are potentially significant enough to prevent provision of design acceptance. There are currently two regulatory issues for the UK ABWR. Hitachi-GE has published resolution plans outlining the action they will take to address the issues.
