The Belgian pre-licensing approach for MYRRHA

The Belgian Nuclear Research Centre, SCK CEN is developing the MYRRHA (Multi-Purpose Hybrid Research Reactor for High-Tech Applications) research infrastructure. MYRRHA is a first-of-a-kind, large-scale nuclear research facility designed to operate as an Accelerator Driven System (ADS). Considering the innovative nature of MYRRHA, SCK CEN and the Belgian regulatory body agreed that interactions, at an early stage in the design process, are necessary to ensure appropriate consideration of safety, security and safeguards requirements and standards, and to build regulatory knowledge on the LBE technology. As a result, pre-licensing process was defined, to address the aspects that were considered most innovative and with the most impact on safety, security, and safeguards. The process relies on performance of R&D activities, definition of approaches and methodologies, development of pre-defined deliverables and organization of workshops and technical meetings on the key topics of pre-licensing. The paper will elaborate on the MYRRHA pre-licensing process, its results and the lessons learned from its implementation.