The SLOWPOKE licensing model

The SLOWPOKE Energy System (SES-10) is a 10 MW heating reactor that has been developed in Canada. It will be capable of running without a licensed operator in continuous attendance, and will be sited in urban areas. It has forgiving safety characteristics, including transient time-scales of the order of hours. A process called “up-front” licensing has been evolved in Canada to identify, and resolve, regulatory concerns early in the process. Because of the potential market in Hungary for nuclear district heating, a licensing plan has been developed that incorporates Canadian licensing experience, identifies specific Hungarian requirements, and reduces the risk of licensing delays by seeking agreement of all parties at an early stage in the program.