The decommissioning of closed graphite moderated nuclear reactors worldwide is still in its early stages with the majority of reactors in “safe store” condition. For these reactors, there are still considerable industrial and technical challenges that remain to be tackled even after more than 30 years of operational shutdown of the first unit. Challenges related to the dimension and complexity of the structure as well as costs for decommissioning urge for novel, more performant, safer and cost-efficient solutions for dismantling operations. INNO4GRAPH aims at developing a set of physical and digital tools and methods to be used both upstream of dismantling operations (for material characterisation and decision-making) and during dismantling operations (for handling and cutting). Tools such as 3D modelling of dismantling scenarios, measurement tools for mechanical and physical properties, mock-ups of the graphite stack and laser-cutting during dismantling operations will be developed. To ensure the cost-efficiency of dismantling scenarios and tools, INNO4GRAPH partners will collect and compare existing cost data for tools, in reference with the different scenarios, to create a benchmarking database for a future decommissioning cost estimate. The launch by EDF of a full-scale graphite power plant demonstrator in Chinon, France, in 2022 will facilitate the uptake and further development of the tools developed during the project. The participation of all European graphite reactor operators in the consortium will not only be the launch of a sector of excellence in the graphite reactor decommissioning field, but will also ensure a large uptake of results by the end-users and will contribute to achieve the highest impact both on scientific/technological, innovation and economic level.

Nuclear power and non-power technologies are technically very complex facilities that operate in the increasingly challenging regulatory framework and market conditions. Development, construction, operation, decommissioning, waste management and oversight of these facilities require personnel with excellent education, skills and motivation: nuclear specialists, that are equipped to work in multidisciplinary, multicultural and competitive environments. ENEN# stands for the largest and most integrative nuclear Education and Training (E&T) efforts up to date. Attraction of excellent new talents followed by outstanding development through E&, cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary activities are the overarching objectives. Excellent workforce should remain the basic enabler of safe long-term operation of existing and development of advanced facilities. A detailed insight into the EU supply and demand of nuclear human resources for power and non-power applications will be developed. This will include industries, academia, technical safety organizations and regulators. Higher number of nuclear talents will be achieved through dedicated career related events and competitions for high school pupils and teachers, students (BSc, MSC, PhD), postdocs and lifelong learners. A strong mobility program will support over 100 person-years of nuclear career enhancing experience to about 1.000 learners with over 2,5 million EUR. Cross-border and cross-disciplinary mobility within and beyond EU will be promoted in cooperation with JRC, OECD/NEA and partners from USA, China, Korea and Japan. A single hub will be established to provide information on available educational, training and job opportunities. Appropriate connections with the complementary NRT-12 project facilitating access to research infrastructures will be maintained. A centralized platform with coherent information on vocational training programs, developed during the project, will be established.