Periodic Reporting for period 3 - PREDIS (PRE-DISposal management of radioactive waste)
Période du rapport: 2023-03-01 au 2024-08-31
PRE-DISposal management of radioactive waste – PREDIS project brought together expertise and innovation from leading researchers in nuclear technologies to form a programme underpinned by ambition and excellence and that can effectively develop new methods, processes, technologies and demonstrators for the pre-disposal treatment of nuclear waste. It produced benefit widely for member states and has furthered the case for the development of nuclear as a vital part of the low carbon energy mix and position member states to take global decommissioning opportunities.
The project was composed of parties having common objectives and enthusiasm to work together towards implementing these innovations. The consortium consisted of Research Entities (REs), Technical Support Organisations (TSOs), Radioactive Waste Producers (RWP), and Waste Management Organisations (WMOs). The project had close synergy with the co-fund project NFRP-2018-6 European Joint Program on Radioactive Waste Management (EURAD, Project #847593) running 2019–2024. Complementary engagement took also place with networks of international parties, including SNE-TP (Nugenia), IGD-TP, SITEX, EURADSCIENCE, IAEA, NEA and several EC-funded projects. The project had a high priority towards impact and uptake by industry.
The high-level objectives were:
- Develop solutions (methods, processes, technologies and demonstrators) for future treatment and conditioning of waste for which no or inadequate solutions are currently available, in order to avoid construction of new storage on sites, or
- improve existing solutions with safer, cheaper or more effective alternative processes
- Analyse criteria, parameters and specifications for materials and packages with associated Waste Acceptance Criteria (WAC)
Means to reach the objectives:
- Applying multi-disciplinary and multi-scale scientific approaches to demonstrate technical, economic and environmental feasibility of the new solutions;
- Addressing project drivers from the end users’ points-of-view;
- Fostering deeper cooperation between experts from many EU Member-states and across generations;
- Training new experts in the field of predisposal waste management technologies;
- Updating and revising predisposal guiding documents (vision, SRA, roadmap, governance and deployment mechanisms).
The project was composed of parties having common objectives and enthusiasm to work together towards implementing these innovations. The consortium consisted of Research Entities (REs), Technical Support Organisations (TSOs), Radioactive Waste Producers (RWP), and Waste Management Organisations (WMOs). The project had close synergy with the co-fund project NFRP-2018-6 European Joint Program on Radioactive Waste Management (EURAD, Project #847593) running 2019–2024. Complementary engagement took also place with networks of international parties, including SNE-TP (Nugenia), IGD-TP, SITEX, EURADSCIENCE, IAEA, NEA and several EC-funded projects. The project had a high priority towards impact and uptake by industry.
The high-level objectives were:
- Develop solutions (methods, processes, technologies and demonstrators) for future treatment and conditioning of waste for which no or inadequate solutions are currently available, in order to avoid construction of new storage on sites, or
- improve existing solutions with safer, cheaper or more effective alternative processes
- Analyse criteria, parameters and specifications for materials and packages with associated Waste Acceptance Criteria (WAC)
Means to reach the objectives:
- Applying multi-disciplinary and multi-scale scientific approaches to demonstrate technical, economic and environmental feasibility of the new solutions;
- Addressing project drivers from the end users’ points-of-view;
- Fostering deeper cooperation between experts from many EU Member-states and across generations;
- Training new experts in the field of predisposal waste management technologies;
- Updating and revising predisposal guiding documents (vision, SRA, roadmap, governance and deployment mechanisms).
PREDIS project has excelled in the progress through its course. All the deliverables and milestones during have been completed: 72 deliverables and 55 milestones. Significant advancements were made in all work packages. Almost 70 scientific papers were published or prepared for submission during the project. 170 other publications or presentations were given from the project. Active collaboration with partners, stakeholders and End User Group was led by the coordinator. In Strategic Implementation, the updated PREDISPOSAL Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) was published. Numerous mobility and training activities and input to EURAD Roadmap were finalised in the Knowledge management.
PREDIS organised 6 consortium meetings with active participation of all partners. The End User Group members and relevant stakeholders showed high engagement by participating to the workshops, stakeholder sessions and webinars. The open workshops, stakeholder sessions and the webinars have reached an audience of about 3000 audience in total.
The project key results:
- The PREDISPOSAL SRA was published and PREDIS position paper on the EURAD SRA was delivered.
- International approaches to establishing a waste acceptance system were studied and Guidance on establishing generic waste acceptance criteria was produced.
- An overview of waste qualification approaches was published.
- Developing and producing the training courses according to the identified training needs by PREDIS beneficiaries.
- The inventory of metallic waste in Europe, based on a questionnaire circulated to project Partners and End Users was completed and several treatment and characterisation methods were developed for metallic materials.
- A selection of the most promising geopolymer and cementitious materials formulations was made and their stability and durability were tested.
- Non-destructive test methods were identified for monitoring and condition assessment technologies, useful to identify problematic waste packages at an early stage, and digital technologies were applied in developing of innovative data handling & decision framework technologies.
- LCA/LCC evaluation and value assessment on the economic, environmental & disposability impacts of novel treatments was performed.
PREDIS published 8 newsletters, 4 blog texts, 3 case studies, 12 domain insights with training sessions and final outcomes video, which are available at the website. The project has organised 5 workshops with End User Group (EUG) engagement and 21 webinars, often jointly with EURAD, other EU projects and with invited speakers from the IAEA and industry. Proceedings of the PREDIS annual Workshops 2021-2024 and publications are in the PREDIS website (https://predis-h2020.eu/publications-and-reports/(s’ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre)).
PREDIS organised 6 consortium meetings with active participation of all partners. The End User Group members and relevant stakeholders showed high engagement by participating to the workshops, stakeholder sessions and webinars. The open workshops, stakeholder sessions and the webinars have reached an audience of about 3000 audience in total.
The project key results:
- The PREDISPOSAL SRA was published and PREDIS position paper on the EURAD SRA was delivered.
- International approaches to establishing a waste acceptance system were studied and Guidance on establishing generic waste acceptance criteria was produced.
- An overview of waste qualification approaches was published.
- Developing and producing the training courses according to the identified training needs by PREDIS beneficiaries.
- The inventory of metallic waste in Europe, based on a questionnaire circulated to project Partners and End Users was completed and several treatment and characterisation methods were developed for metallic materials.
- A selection of the most promising geopolymer and cementitious materials formulations was made and their stability and durability were tested.
- Non-destructive test methods were identified for monitoring and condition assessment technologies, useful to identify problematic waste packages at an early stage, and digital technologies were applied in developing of innovative data handling & decision framework technologies.
- LCA/LCC evaluation and value assessment on the economic, environmental & disposability impacts of novel treatments was performed.
PREDIS published 8 newsletters, 4 blog texts, 3 case studies, 12 domain insights with training sessions and final outcomes video, which are available at the website. The project has organised 5 workshops with End User Group (EUG) engagement and 21 webinars, often jointly with EURAD, other EU projects and with invited speakers from the IAEA and industry. Proceedings of the PREDIS annual Workshops 2021-2024 and publications are in the PREDIS website (https://predis-h2020.eu/publications-and-reports/(s’ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre)).
From the project start, the strong foundation on scientific and technological development towards project objectives has been realised into research and development activities. The main results and impacts of the project are listed below.
- Foster deeper cooperation between experts from many EU Member-states and across generations
- Training new experts in the field of pre-disposal waste management technologies
- Updating and revising predisposal guiding documents
In strategic implementation:
- Providing practical guidance on waste form qualification processes and on formulating generic waste acceptance criteria applicable for storage and disposal.
- Identifying of future innovation needs based on end user challenges and opportunities to focus research and innovation actions
In knowledge management:
- Integration of radioactive field actors and experts in knowledge management from countries in very different state of technological development.
- Alignment of the training programme with the needs of the predisposal industry and activities
- Promotion and facilitation of knowledge transfer and young generation learning via mobility and training programme
In innovations for metallic waste:
- Making problematic metallic waste management routes safer and more economically efficient.
- Promoting the harmonisation of European regulation including WACs.
In innovations for radioactive liquid organic waste (RLOW):
- Availability of a treatment and conditioning process for RLOW developed up to TRL 6 and
- a set of experimental and technical data demonstrating the performances of the final waste materials in long-term storage and disposal conditions.
In innovations for solid organic waste:
- Increase the confidence about the long-term stability of the reconditioned wastes exposed to the ultimate repository environment and
- the confidence of all stakeholders that the nuclear industry has at its disposition mature technologies for the treatment and solidification of problematic wastes
In innovation for cemented waste packages and monitoring:
- More versatile and reliable condition monitoring technologies, which have been demonstrated on operating radioactive facilities and made available to end users
- Increased safety and gaining local stakeholder trust
- Implementation of digital tools for data management and decision framework development.
- Foster deeper cooperation between experts from many EU Member-states and across generations
- Training new experts in the field of pre-disposal waste management technologies
- Updating and revising predisposal guiding documents
In strategic implementation:
- Providing practical guidance on waste form qualification processes and on formulating generic waste acceptance criteria applicable for storage and disposal.
- Identifying of future innovation needs based on end user challenges and opportunities to focus research and innovation actions
In knowledge management:
- Integration of radioactive field actors and experts in knowledge management from countries in very different state of technological development.
- Alignment of the training programme with the needs of the predisposal industry and activities
- Promotion and facilitation of knowledge transfer and young generation learning via mobility and training programme
In innovations for metallic waste:
- Making problematic metallic waste management routes safer and more economically efficient.
- Promoting the harmonisation of European regulation including WACs.
In innovations for radioactive liquid organic waste (RLOW):
- Availability of a treatment and conditioning process for RLOW developed up to TRL 6 and
- a set of experimental and technical data demonstrating the performances of the final waste materials in long-term storage and disposal conditions.
In innovations for solid organic waste:
- Increase the confidence about the long-term stability of the reconditioned wastes exposed to the ultimate repository environment and
- the confidence of all stakeholders that the nuclear industry has at its disposition mature technologies for the treatment and solidification of problematic wastes
In innovation for cemented waste packages and monitoring:
- More versatile and reliable condition monitoring technologies, which have been demonstrated on operating radioactive facilities and made available to end users
- Increased safety and gaining local stakeholder trust
- Implementation of digital tools for data management and decision framework development.