Horizon Europe: IRSN research projects selected in the EURATOM 2023-2025 call for projects

In 2023, the European Commission launched a call for projects for the period 2024-2025 under the Horizon Europe research framework programme. IRSN has been selected to take part in nine projects within consortia, one of which it will lead, in three areas: the safety of power and research reactors, innovation in nuclear safety and radiation protection, and innovative and advanced design.

Research projects carried out within the framework of Euratom research projects are a major component of IRSN's partnership research. This is evidenced by the Institute's investment in responding to calls for projects launched periodically by the European Commission and the number of projects for which it has just been selected, in consortium with other players in nuclear safety and radiation protection.

IRSN will be leading the FIND project, the aim of which is to improve structural condition monitoring and control using non-destructive methods and appropriate instrumentation for power reactors in operation. It will also participate in work packages. In the context of extending the operating life of nuclear power reactors, this project aims to accelerate the development of new instrumentation for monitoring reactors in service and under accident conditions. Various concepts will be adapted to the specific needs of the nuclear industry.

The Institute will take part in the future work programmes of EURAD-2, which is the successor to the European Joint Programme on Radioactive Waste Management (EURAD) and will lead one of them.

IRSN will also contribute to the following projects at various levels:

• SOCRATES: Assessment of liquid source term for accidental post-management phase - as coordinator of work packages;
• EASI-SMR: Ensuring assessment of safety innovations for SMR - as coordinator of work packages;
• ENDURANCE: EU knowledge hub for enabling molten salt reactor safety development and deployment - as work package coordinator;
• EVEREST: Experiments for validation and enhancement of the reactor pressure vessel fluence assessment;
• DORADO: Digital twins and ontology for robot assisted decommissioning operations;
• APRENDE: Improved nuclear data for the safety of energy and non-energy applications of ionising radiation;
• CONNECT-NM (co fund): continuation of ORIENT-NM, Co-funded European partnership for research in nuclear materials, for which IRSN will participate in future calls for projects.