Canada-Romania Partnership in Nuclear Technologies (March 2-3, 2021)

Tuesday, March 2 – ONLINE

06:45 – 07:00 REGISTRATION & TESTS

07:00 – 07:05 Introductory film on Cernavoda NPP

07:05 – 08:05 Introductory session

• Welcome Speech – H.E. Annick Goulet, Ambassador of Canada to Romania
• Cosmin Ghiță, CEO SN Nuclearelectrica SA
• Lucian Rusu, President ROMATOM
• Ron Oberth, President OCNI
• Stephanie Smith, President CANDU Owners Group

Gabriel Avăcăriței, Energynomics – moderator

08:05 – 08:15 KEYNOTE ADDRESS – Prof. Ion Purica ROMATOM

08:15 – 08:30 NETWORKING BREAK for the participants registered to the event page in in the MyConnector platform

08:30 – 08:50 Cernavodă Units 3&4 Units presentation

Following the termination of the previous round of negotiations, Romania is seeking to identify new investors for Cernavoda CANDU Units 3&4. This important project will double Romania’s nuclear capacity in order to meet increasing power demand, enhance security of supply and reach climate change targets. The Project is contemplated by the all scenarios of “Romania’s Energy Strategy until 2030, with the perspective of 2050”, as well as in the “National Integrated Plan in the field of Energy and Climate Change (PNIESC) 2021-2030”. Unit 3 has to be operational by 2030, and Unit 4 soon after 2030. The foreign partners envisaged by the Romanian government are from the EU / NATO area.

• Alexandru Havriș / Alexandru Mărciulescu, SNN

08:50 – 09:10 Cernavodă Unit 1 Refurbishment presentation

Cernavoda NPP Unit 1 refurbishment process is a complex one, involving a wide supply chain, dedicated oversight team and a strict project timeline. The refurbishment outage is scheduled between January 2027 and December 2028 and at an estimated cost of 1.2 – 1.5 billion Euros. Unit 1 refurbishment project will result in an additional 30 years of safe, reliable, clean and efficient operation of Unit 1. The Cernavoda Tritium Removal Plant (CTRF) will significantly reduce the environmental radioactive emissions as well as the radioactive doses for workers, with strong effects during the refurbishment of Unit 1.

• Sorin Ghelbereu, CTRF and Refurbishment Director, SNN

09:10 – 09:30 Darlington Refurbishment Project presentation

The Darlington Nuclear Generating Station has been a reliable source of power for Ontario for more than 30 years and the refurbishment program scheduled for the next 10 years will provide another 30 years of low-cost, reliable and clean energy. In 2016, after years of detailed planning and preparation, Ontario Power Generation’s (OPG) team of project partners, industry experts, energy professionals, and skilled tradespeople successfully shut down the first of four Darlington reactors scheduled for refurbishment. In June 2020, following more than three years in the execution phase, OPG successfully reconnected Unit 2 to Ontario’s grid at 100% full power. Unit 2 Refurbishment fast facts: 24 million hours worked since 2016; 765,000 hours spent on training in the Mock-up and Training Facility; 18 of 18 safety and infrastructure projects complete; 100,000 work order tasks processed.

09:30 – 09:45 NETWORKING BREAK for the participants registered to the event page in in the MyConnector platform

09.45 – 10:35 Nuclear safety regulatory issues session

Ensuring safe nuclear plant operation is key objective of nuclear power plant designers, operators and nuclear regulators in Canada and Romania. Romania’s CNCAN and Canada’s CNSC are long-term collaborators in the field. Also, meeting the European Union’s nuclear safety requirements is a challenge that the nuclear industry in the countries under its control. The Panel will discuss how this collaboration supports nuclear plant safety.

• Gerry Frappier, CNSC (to be confirmed)
• Patrick Reid, SNC-Lavalin (to be confirmed)
• Gheorghe Ioniță, CNCAN (to be confirmed)
• Adrian Rizea, CITON

Adrian Jelev, SN Nuclearelectrica – moderator

10:35 – 10:50 NETWORKING BREAK for the participants registered to the event page in in the MyConnector platform

10:50 – 11:40 Canada – Romania Universities Cooperation session

Ensuring well-trained human resources is key for the advancement of the nuclear sector. Canadian and Romanian universities in the nuclear domain are enjoying long established connections and are always keen to discuss further areas of collaboration in developing and expanding various applications of nuclear technology both in Romania and in Canada.

• Prof. Eden Mamut, PhD, Eng, Ovidius University Constanța

Elena Popescu, Ministry of Energy, România – Co-moderator

Jerry Hopwood, University Network of Excellence in Nuclear Engineering – Co-moderator

Wednesday, March 3 – ONLINE

06:45 – 07:00 REGISTRATION & TESTS

07:00 – 07:55 Radioactive waste management and disposal session

Dealing with radioactive waste is one of the most important aspects in both Romanian and Canadian nuclear plant operations and in maintaining public support. Through collaboration, Romanian and Canadian nuclear waste agencies and research organizations can identify the best solutions. Here, as well as at the nuclear safety session, observing the EU legal framework represents an important challenge.

• Derek Wilson, NWMO
• Veronica Andrei, SN Nuclearelectrica SA

07:55 – 08:10 NETWORKING BREAK for the participants registered to the event page in in the MyConnector platform

08:10 – 09:05 Small Modular Reactors session

New, more easily deployable nuclear technologies are making their way into the industry, making nuclear power accessible to remote communities. Coupled with Gen IV innovations, SMRs are regarded by many countries as a key part of nuclear development. Romania has a long-term vision in the nuclear field, aiming to achieve competitive SMRs in the perspective of the late ‘20s, ’30s and’ 40s, and Canada is progressing vigorously in this way.

• Paul Thompson, New Brunswick Power (to be confirmed)
• Gina Strati, Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (to be confirmed)
• Dan Șerbănescu, SN Nuclearelectrica SA
• Ilie Turcu, ALFRED Demonstrator

Diane Cameron, NRCan – moderator (to be confirmed)

09:05 – 09:20 NETWORKING BREAK for the participants registered to the event page in in the MyConnector platform

09.20 – 10:15 Innovative applications of nuclear technologies session

Applications of nuclear technologies go beyond nuclear power and include advances in cancer treatment, sterilization, food preservation. Research and development in this field is identifying new beneficial uses of nuclear technology. The experience of the CANDU industry is relevant in this area, and Romania is a fertile ground for these applications. On the other hand, Romania’s progress in the field of Extreme Light Infrastructure can create bridges to Canada.

• Richard Wiens, Nordion
• Travis Basanger, Kinectrics
• Alin Tatu, SN Nuclearelectrica SA
• Viorel Mărginean, ELI-NP (to be confirmed)

James Scongack, Canadian Nuclear Isotope Council – moderator

10:15 – 10:30 NETWORKING BREAK for the participants registered to the event page in in the MyConnector platform

10.30 – 11:25 Canada-Romania supply chain collaboration session

Canadian and Romanian companies with expertise in the nuclear field have a 50-year long history of collaboration on the Cernavodă CANDU plant, as well as on research and development. This collaboration can be extended to joint projects in Romania, Canada and third county markets.

• Ron Oberth, OCNI
• Corina Truică, ROMATOM
• Andrei Goicea, FORATOM

Teodor Chirica, Honorary President SN Nuclearelectrica – moderator