Improving Nuclear Power Plant Safety in Europe: EURICE Successfully Concludes EU Research Project APAL
The project provides newly developed guidelines to advance safety assessment methods in the EU for safe long-term operation
After four productive and eventful years, the EU-funded project APAL (Advanced PTS Analysis for LTO) has officially concluded.
Throughout the project period the international, multidisciplinary consortium advanced safety assessment methods for nuclear power plants with the goal of improving their safety across Europe. In particular, the project set out to improve the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) integrity assessment methods for pressurised thermal shock (PTS) with the final goal of enhancing nuclear power plant safety which can contribute to safe long-term operation (LTO).
The final project meeting brought together project partners, researchers and external stakeholders to reflect on the project’s achievements, discuss prospects, and share key findings. Held over three days at IRSN in Paris, the meeting included a comprehensive review of the project’s milestones, results, and impact. It provided an opportunity for all partners to share their experiences, lessons learned, and the challenges they overcame throughout the project lifecycle.
The highlight of the final APAL meeting was the “Final seminar - Advanced deterministic and probabilistic integrity analyses of RPVs subjected to PTS Loading - Lessons learned from APAL”, attended by more than 100 external stakeholders from the nuclear power industry, including plant owners, suppliers, regulatory bodies, and other relevant parties. The seminar featured insightful presentations on the key outcomes of the project and how they can be applied to address current and future challenges in the field of nuclear power plant safety. In particular, the final seminar offered a concise summary of the advanced deterministic and probabilistic integrity analyses of RPVs under pressurised thermal shock loading. Engaging discussions explored the practical implications of the findings, including the final guidance on best practices which comprises the collective experience and expertise of professionals involved in the APAL project on pressurised thermal shock analysis. The participants provided valuable feedback and perspectives. This forum encouraged collaboration between research teams and stakeholders, fostering long-term partnerships and knowledge exchange.
“Throughout the project, EURICE consistently supported the coordinating team and consortium as reliable partner by delivering the project management needed to ensure its success”, says Nadine Drechoux, Senior Project Manager at EURICE. “The project funding of EUR 4 million provided by the EU Horizon 2020 Euratom I programme has been put to good use and will improve the safety of European nuclear power plants,” She adds.
