International Framework for Nuclear Energy Cooperation (IFNEC) Small Modular Reactor Workshop, 16298-16300 [2014-06506]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• International Trade Administration

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 57 (Tuesday, March 25, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16298-16300]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-06506]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration


International Framework for Nuclear Energy Cooperation (IFNEC) 
Small Modular Reactor Workshop

AGENCY: International Trade Administration, DOC.

ACTION: Notice.

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Event Description

    The U.S. Department of Commerce's International Trade 
Administration (ITA) is coordinating with the U.S. Department of 
Energy--the lead U.S. agency for the International Framework for 
Nuclear Energy Cooperation (IFNEC)--to organize the participation of 
U.S. civil nuclear organizations in an IFNEC Small Modular Reactor 
(SMR) Workshop, to be held on June 11-12, 2014 near the Dead Sea in 
Jordan. IFNEC is an international forum consisting of 63 countries 
ranging from those with emerging and existing nuclear power programs to 
those in the process of phasing out nuclear power programs. The goal of 
this SMR Workshop is to gain a better understanding, from a national 
energy planning authority and Nuclear Energy Program Implementation 
Organization (NEPIO) perspective, of the near-term SMR commercial 
deployment process; and how SMRs could be deployed in markets 
represented by IFNEC members, including countries seeking to use 
nuclear energy for the first time and those with limited infrastructure 
and resources, such as countries with small electricity grids and 
insufficient capital to finance the deployment of medium and large-
sized reactors. ITA is seeking the participation of approximately 15 
U.S. companies or trade associations in the civil nuclear sector. The 
Workshop's scenario-based and interactive dialogue will provide an 
opportunity for member country policymakers and other participants to 
benefit from the viewpoints of the U.S. civil nuclear industry and for 
U.S. industry to learn more about the policies, regulatory landscape, 
and energy plans of participating IFNEC countries.

Event Setting

    The Workshop will bring together IFNEC member country 
representatives and key stakeholders involved in the development and 
deployment of SMRs. The Workshop will take an enterprise-wide approach 
by convening a broad spectrum of stakeholders who would play key roles 
in successfully deploying an SMR (e.g. vendors, utilities, commercial 
banks, export credit agencies, insurers, nuclear safety and security 
regulators, market regulators, insurers, rating agencies, 
transportation, energy planning authorities/NEPIOs) in order to 
identify SMR deployment options and approaches. An important Workshop 
goal will be to understand the critical factors for key stakeholder 
groups--what they can and cannot do--in order to discuss specific 
deployment options.

IFNEC Background

    IFNEC is led by an Executive Committee, composed of ministerial-
level officials or their designees from Participant Countries and three 
International Organizations (the International Atomic Energy Agency 
(IAEA), Generation IV International Forum (GIF) and Euratom) that meet 
annually to set the agenda for the coming year. Observer Countries and 
International Organizations are welcome and encouraged to attend. This 
workshop was proposed and approved at the October 2013 meeting of the 
IFNEC Executive Committee in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Event Scenario

    The IFNEC SMR Workshop will provide a dynamic forum in which 
experts representing a broad spectrum of key stakeholders will engage 
in moderated hypothetical scenario-based exercises to address the 
benefits and challenges related to the deployment of SMRs. This 
Workshop's focus will be on reactors with a nominal output of 300 MWe 
(or less) based on a modular fabrication processes and ready for 
commercialization within the next 15 years. Following the scenario 
exercises, key experts will lead focused participatory dialogues among 
groups of Workshop attendees to further address specific issues and 
responses to the scenario-based exercises.
    The interactions in the breakout groups will help Workshop 
attendees gain a better understanding of how the

[[Page 16299]]

stakeholders affect the process of SMR deployment. The primary goal of 
the workshop is to identify practical actions that IFNEC countries, 
individually or collectively, can take to address SMR deployment 
challenges.

Event Dates and Proposed Agenda

Wednesday, June 11

8:00-9:00 Registration and Networking
9:00-9:30 Welcome and Opening Remarks
9:30-10:00 Group Photo and Break
10:00-10:15 Workshop Objectives and Scene-Setter
10:15-11:00 Global Nuclear Reactor Market State of Play
11:00-12:00 National Market Perspectives Regarding SMRs
12:00-1:30 Lunch
1:30-3:30 Moderated Interactive Scenario Session 1: Build a 
Plan for Deployment of an SMR Based on Limited Capital, Credit and 
Infrastructure
3:30-4:00 Break
4:00-5:00 Breakout sessions to identify critical deployment issues and 
how the scenario country can or should address them
5:00-5:30 Breakout Reports led by Moderator
5:30-5:45 Wrap-up of Day 1/Preview of Day 2 by Steering Group Chair and 
Moderator
6:15-8:45 Dinner/Networking Opportunity

Thursday, June 12

8:30-10:00 Small Modular Reactor Descriptions--Facilitated by Workshop 
Moderator
10:00-10:30 Break
10:30-12:00 Moderated Interactive Scenario Session 2: Build a 
Plan for Deployment of an SMR Based on Substantial Capital, Credit, and 
Infrastructure
12:00-1:30 Lunch
1:30-3:00 Breakout sessions to identify the critical deployment issues 
in Scenario 2 and how the scenario country can or should 
address them
3:00-3:30 Break
3:30-4:30 Plenary Session and Summary of Findings/Recommendations and 
Conclusions
4:30-5:00 Wrap-Up by Steering Group Chair and Moderator
7:30-9:00 Gala Diner

    ** The lunch and Gala Dinner will be provided by the host country**

Event Goals

    The purpose of U.S. civil nuclear industry participation in the 
IFNEC SMR Workshop is to provide an opportunity for participants to 
hear U.S. industry views in this sector and for industry 
representatives to showcase their knowledge and experience with SMR 
deployment to the IFNEC Member Countries. U.S. participants will also 
have the opportunity to network, build relationships in the global 
civil nuclear sector; interact with senior U.S. and foreign government 
and industry officials and learn more about current and future project 
opportunities. Workshop participants will benefit from the expertise 
that the U.S. industry has amassed in this sector and may learn how to 
better partner with U.S. industry on future nuclear power projects, 
thus potentially leading to increased U.S. exports.

Participation Requirements

    Organizations interested in participating in the IFNEC SMR Workshop 
must complete and submit an application package for consideration by 
the ITA. Applicants will be evaluated based on their ability to meet 
certain the selection criteria outlined below. A minimum of 15 
organizations will be selected from the applicant pool of U.S. 
companies and trade associations. Only companies or trade associations 
representing companies that are already doing business internationally 
may apply. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis in the 
order that they are received.

Fees and Expenses

    After a company or trade association has been selected to 
participate in the IFNEC Workshop, the IFNEC Steering Group Chair will 
send out a formal invitation. There is NO participation fee associated 
with participating in the IFNEC Workshop; however, participants will be 
responsible for personal expenses associated with lodging, most meals, 
incidentals, local ground transportation, air transportation from the 
United States to the event location, and return to the United States. 
The host country will provide coffee both days and host the gala dinner 
on the second night of the event.

Sponsorship Opportunities

    There are a limited number of sponsorship opportunities available 
for interested companies to showcase their company profile during the 
Workshop. For more information about these opportunities, please 
contact Jonathan Chesebro at jonathan.chesebro@trade.gov or 202-
482.1297.

Conditions for Participation

    Applicants must submit to ITA's staff (see Contact) a completed 
mission application signed by a company official, together with 
supplemental application materials addressing how their organization 
satisfies the selection criteria listed below by April 4, 2014. If the 
ITA receives an incomplete application, it may be rejected or ITA may 
request additional information.
    In question 11 of the trade event application, each applicant is 
asked to certify that the products and services it intends to export 
through the event are either manufactured or produced in the United 
States, or, if not, are marketed under the name of a U.S. firm and have 
U.S. content representing at least fifty-one percent of the value of 
the finished good or service. For purposes of this event, meeting the 
51 percent content requirement is not a prerequisite for mission 
participation and applicant responses to question 11 will serve as 
supplemental information the ITA is reviewing applications. In the case 
of a trade association, the applicant must certify that as part of its 
even participation, it will represent the interests of its members.

Selection Criteria for Participation

    Selection will be based on the following criteria:
     The applicant's experience producing technology or 
providing services to civil nuclear energy projects or, in the case of 
a trade association, the experience of its members;
     The global breadth of the applicant's experience with 
civil nuclear energy projects;
     The extent and depth of the applicant's activities in the 
global civil nuclear energy industry;
     The applicant's company or, in the case of a trade 
association, the association's members' potential for, or interest in, 
doing business with IFNEC member countries;
     The applicant's ability to identify and discuss policy 
issues relevant to U.S. competitiveness in the nuclear energy sector, 
with special emphasis on financing; and
     Consistency of the applicant's company or trade 
association's goals and objectives with the stated scope of the IFNEC 
Workshop.
    Referrals from political organizations and any documents containing 
references to partisan political activities (including political 
contributions) will be removed from an applicant's submission and not 
considered during the selection process.
    Selected applicants will be asked to sign a Participation Agreement 
with the Department of Commerce which includes the following mandatory 
certifications (applicants that cannot

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attest to these certifications cannot participate):
     Certify that the products and services that it intends to 
highlight as examples at the workshop would be in compliance with U.S. 
export controls and regulations;
     Certify that it has identified to the Department of 
Commerce for its evaluation any business pending before the Department 
that may present the appearance of a conflict of interest;
     Certify that it has identified any pending litigation 
(including any administrative proceedings) to which it is a party that 
involves the Department of Commerce; and
     Certify that it and its affiliates (1) have not and will 
not engage in the bribery of foreign officials in connection with a 
company's/participant's involvement in this mission, and (2) maintain 
and enforce a policy that prohibits the bribery of foreign officials.

Timeframe for Recruitment and Participation

    Recruitment for participation in the IFNEC Workshop as a 
representative of the U.S. nuclear industry will be conducted in an 
open and public manner, including publication in the Federal Register, 
posting on the Commerce Department trade mission calendar, notices to 
industry trade associations and other multiplier groups. Recruitment 
will begin immediately and conclude no later than April 4, 2014. The 
ITA will review applications and make selection decisions on a rolling 
basis beginning on or about April 4, 2014. Applications received after 
April 4, 2014, will be considered only if space and scheduling permit.

Contact

    Jonathan Chesebro, Senior International Trade Specialist, Industry 
and Analysis, Office of Energy and Environmental Industries, 
International Trade Administration, Phone: (202)-482-1297, Email: 
jonathan.chesebro@trade.gov.

    Dated: March 18, 2014.
Edward A. O'Malley,
Director, Office of Energy and Environmental Industries.
[FR Doc. 2014-06506 Filed 3-24-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-P