The Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and coordinated through a variety of mechanisms and interactions with industry, vendors, suppliers, regulatory agencies, and other industry research and development (R&D) organizations, conducts research to develop technologies and other solutions to improve economics and reliability, sustain safety, and extend the operation of nation's fleet of nuclear power plants.
The LWRS program has two objectives to maintain the long-term operations of the existing fleet:
to provide science and technology-based solutions to industry to o implement technology to exceed the performance of the current business model; and
to manage the aging of systems, structures, and components (SSCs) so nuclear power plant lifetimes can be extended and the plants can continue to operate safely, efficiently, and economically.
The LWRS Program research and development pathways are:
Plant Modernization – R&D to address nuclear power plant economic viability in current and future energy markets through innovation, efficiency gains, and business model transformation using digital technologies.
Flexible Plant Operation and Generation – R&D to identify opportunities and develop methods for light-water reactors (LWRs) to directly supply energy to industrial processes to diversify approaches to revenue generation.
Risk-Informed Systems Analysis – R&D to develop and deploy risk-informed tools and methods to achieve high levels of safety and economic efficiencies.
Materials Research – R&D to develop the scientific basis for understanding and predicting long-term environmental degradation behavior of materials in nuclear power plants.
Physical Security – R&D to develop methods, tools, and technologies to optimize and modernize a nuclear facility's security posture.