About The Event
It is anticipated that by 2050, the electric power industry will replace a majority of the existing ~390GW nuclear fleet and add an additional 480GW of new generation capacity. (1) In the US alone, the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) has identified ~40 units that are slated for production by 2032 with many more planned by 2050. Similarly, rapid deployment is anticipated for other Advanced Energy Systems (AES) such as non-battery bulk energy storage systems (e.g. molten salts), concentrated solar power (CSP), supercritical CO2 (sCO2), and thermal power plants with carbon capture and storage. This new generation of AES will not only produce electricity but provide transformative solutions for other energy intense industries.
This surge in power plant construction is being driven by carbon initiatives which are being implemented across the globe to achieve Net Zero by 2050. The unprecedented energy transformation is reshaping the energy system and placing a new strain on the already pressed global supply chain. In the summer of 2022, EPRI hosted the first of several planned Supply Chain Workshops which are intended to focus on industry challenges and opportunities associated with the supply chain support for structural components in AESs. The workshop was based around seven key themes, included over 50 presentations, and resulted in several opportunities/actionable items. The results of the 1st Workshop were captured in a publicly available EPRI report: 3002025254.
In April of 2023, EPRI will be hosting a second Supply Chain Workshop to describe work that has already begun to address several of the key opportunities and to seek further industry input on actionable items. These topics were selected based on the outcomes of the first workshop and a follow-on survey of the industry. Specifically, topics which the 2nd Workshop will cover include:
· Welding Workforce Development
· Fitness for Nuclear (FN4) North America – Vendor Fitness & Qualification
· Capabilities in the Areas of Fabricators, Machining Supplier Capabilities, and Heat Treating/Bending
· Architect Engineer (AE) Perspectives on New Build & Supply Chain
· Codes & Standards Progress and Challenges
· Materials Qualification – Overcoming the Barriers of Accelerated Qualification
The two-day workshop will include presentations by industry experts, Code representatives, key stakeholders (AES developers/manufacturers), equipment manufacturers, selected vendors, and AEs.
EPRI encourages you to plan to participate in the 2nd Supply Chain Workshop to provide industrial perspective and to work with us to address current barriers to deployment of new generation.
(2) Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI).
Conference Website: https://www.epri.com/events/3B56DDAA-F28C-47F7-A3D3-17C4015E40E0