Inside Russia’s SMR School, Where Nuclear Experience Shapes Future Energy Decisions

The school forms part of wider IAEA assistance through its SMR Platform and Nuclear Harmonization and Standardization Initiative.

For countries considering small modular reactors, understanding the technology means examining how reactors operate, how regulators oversee them and what communities need from the electricity and heat they produce. An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) SMR School in Murmansk, Russia, brought those questions into focus for 22 participants from 13 member countries. Held from 24 to 28 August and hosted by the Russian Government through Rosatom Technical Academy, the programme connected policymakers and regulators with specialists working on reactor design, licensing and operation through classroom discussions, technical visits and a virtual floating power plant tour.

Bringing Reactor Technology Into Real-World Focus

Countries are exploring SMRs for low-carbon electricity, heating, industrial uses and energy supplies for remote communities, making experience from operating facilities particularly useful when assessing potential projects. SMRs are operating in China and Russia, with other projects under construction or development elsewhere. The Murmansk event was the second school in a new IAEA series focused on technologies approaching deployment or already operating, following a June programme at Argonne National Laboratory in the United States. IAEA SMR Platform Coordinator Dohee Hahn explained that access to practical experience helps countries understand demonstrated capabilities, opportunities and challenges before deciding how SMRs might fit their energy systems.

Russian developers, operators, regulators and other specialists discussed KLT-40S and RITM reactor technologies, giving participants a closer understanding of compact reactors used in marine and remote environments. Sessions covered floating nuclear power plants, safety, licensing, nuclear security, safeguards, workforce needs, fuel cycle considerations and deployment planning, connecting technical choices with the responsibilities involved in running a nuclear programme. Presentations on the SHELF-M project and BREST-OD-300 demonstration programme introduced advanced reactor concepts, broadening the discussion beyond the systems participants examined through operational case studies.

What Floating Plants and Icebreakers Can Teach

The Akademik Lomonosov floating nuclear power plant in Pevek provided a central case study, with operators explaining its contribution to local electricity supplies and district heating and sharing lessons from its operation. A virtual tour allowed participants to examine the plant and its systems, making the discussions more concrete. Visits to the Lenin, the world's first nuclear-powered icebreaker, and Atomflot, the base for Russia's nuclear icebreaker fleet, connected the history of compact marine reactors with present-day operations. At Atomflot, participants toured a modern nuclear-powered icebreaker and the Situation Centre supporting the fleet.

Wei Eng Ang of Malaysia's Department of Atomic Energy described the combination of classroom learning, virtual tours and site visits as valuable for understanding the technology's practical applications. The programme encouraged participants to examine the institutions, infrastructure and professional skills needed to operate and regulate SMRs safely and securely. Kirsi Alm-Lytz, acting Director of the IAEA Division of Nuclear Installation Safety, linked the discussions to ongoing revisions of IAEA Safety Standards on design safety and safety assessment, explaining that floating plants and nuclear-powered icebreakers bring specific design, licensing and operational considerations that standards need to address.

Turning Shared Experience Into National Preparation

For Vinícius Monte of the Brazilian Office of Naval Nuclear Regulation, discussions with designers and operators offered insights across disciplines that could support safe and secure deployment of maritime nuclear reactors in Brazil. Marwa Emam of Egypt's Executive Authority for Supervising Nuclear Power Plants Projects said the experience strengthened her understanding of reactor technologies, safety approaches and deployment challenges, particularly licensing and regulatory frameworks. These perspectives reflected the school's practical purpose: helping national specialists assess what their countries would need before making deployment decisions.

The school forms part of wider IAEA assistance through its SMR Platform and Nuclear Harmonization and Standardization Initiative. Earlier schools covered technology, infrastructure, regulation, safety, security, safeguards and stakeholder engagement; the new format adds direct contact with developers, regulators and experienced operators. Further schools are planned around member countries' needs, including engagement with technology developers and other relevant stakeholders where appropriate.