Ten Building Blocks to Success: Ten Tailored Modules

The FIRST team is excited to help partners – both newcomer countries and those with existing nuclear programs — build capacity to explore the opportunities offered by SMRs and advanced reactor technologies to develop clean, safe, and reliable nuclear energy.

Building on more than 60 years of U.S. innovation and expertise in nuclear energy, FIRST tailors each engagement to meet the partner’s specific needs through a ten-module collaborative training and capacity building program. With partners from across the U.S. Government and experts from academia, private industry, non-governmental organizations, and U.S. national laboratories, FIRST brings diverse expertise on the cutting edge of nuclear technology to build partner country capacity. FIRST covers the wide range of issues countries need to consider when exploring SMR-based nuclear energy, including:

1. Nuclear as Part of the Energy Mix

2. Stakeholder Engagement for Success

3. Workforce Development

4. SMR Siting and Early Works 

5. Nuclear Safety and Licensing Approaches for SMRs 

6. Technology Selection

7. SMR Financing and Localization (with an emphasis on supporting local supply chains and jobs)

8. Nuclear Security

9. Nuclear Nonproliferation

10. Spent Fuel Management 

How FIRST Works

FIRST support includes an early expert-level dialogue between the United States and an interested partner country. That dialogue offers an opportunity for partner countries to share their nuclear energy capacity-building priorities, to discuss the technical support they have received from the IAEA and other multilateral and bilateral partners, and to learn about FIRST’s full suite of capacity-building support.

Experts from both countries work together to develop a tailored engagement plan that identifies the appropriate training, workshops, webinars, study tours, and other means to fill gaps and build on existing efforts.

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FIRST aims to build upon the IAEA’s technical cooperation on nuclear infrastructure development to address issues specific to SMR deployment, supplement efforts to work through the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Milestone Approach, and establish a foundation for further bilateral cooperation in nuclear energy.

Do you think FIRST could support your country’s nuclear energy goals?

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